Storm on government palace in Bangladesh – Hasina likely to resign

From protests to deadly street fights to the storming of the office: in Bangladesh, thousands have called for the Prime Minister to resign.

Dhaka – They have apparently achieved their goal. On Monday (5 August), thousands of anti-government demonstrators stormed the official residence of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the capital Dhaka. This is reported by the news agency AFPThe protesters euphorically celebrated their entry into the government palace.

They have achieved their goal. The head of government, who had previously fled to a “safe place” in India with her sister, has resigned. As the highest-ranking military officer of the South Asian state announced in a speech, an interim government will now rule the country until a solution is found.

Bloodbath on Bangladesh’s streets: Hundreds die in protest marches

Since July, 76-year-old Hasina has been confronted with mass protests that have repeatedly turned violent. AFP At least 300 people were killed. On Sunday (4 August) alone, 94 were killed – the bloodiest climax of the conflict so far.

Hundreds of thousands of government opponents and supporters took to the streets across the country and attacked each other with knives, sticks and clubs. Security forces also fired rifles into the crowd.

For this reason, numerous soldiers and police officers checked the important streets of Dhaka on Monday (5 August). A curfew had been in place since Sunday evening (4 August). According to operators, the Internet was largely shut down in the morning, offices and more than 3,500 textile factories that are immensely important for the country’s economy remained closed. In addition, the access roads to Prime Minister Hasina’s headquarters were cordoned off and barricaded with barbed wire – without success.

Abuse, retention of power, murder: serious allegations against Bangladesh’s government

The demonstrators originally took to the streets to protest against a quota system for the allocation of public sector jobs, which they said favored supporters of Hasina. The demonstrations subsequently aimed to force the resignation of the head of government, who has been in office since 2009, and her cabinet. Her government is accused, among other things, of abusing state institutions to maintain its own power and of suppressing government critics – even to the point of extrajudicial killing of opposition members.

The protest movement included people from all walks of life, including film stars, well-known musicians and former generals. 47 companies in the textile industry, which is important for the country’s economy, also expressed their solidarity with the demonstrators.

For Germany and the European Union Bangladesh is economically interesting: Recently, EU companies called for a higher minimum wage in Bangladesh’s textile industry. (afp/pls)