Protest With a demand to immediately stop fossil fuel investment, the Impossible Rebellion has started in London! (Extinction Rebellion/ Twitter)
“We need to take drastic actions now. People in countries further south are suffering terribly, there are already wars over resources because of climate change,” she stressed…reports Asian Lite News.
Hundreds of people on Tuesday blocked roads around Parliament Street and Whitehall, in central London, on the second day of the Extinction Rebellion (XR) protest to demand urgent actions from governments to tackle climate change, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
Several protesters lied in the middle of the street in front of a large green banner reading “Government in bed with climate criminals,” while others chanted and danced to the beat of drums.
“We’re here because the government is not telling us the truth about the reality of climate change and what it will mean to our children and grandchildren and for all the generations that will come after them,” Mary, one of the XR members, told Sputnik.
With a demand to immediately stop fossil fuel investment, the Impossible Rebellion has started in London! pic.twitter.com/hndmzKEGU5
According to the activist, authorities in the United Kingdom and across the world are trying to hide from people that climate is already breaking down and that there will be shortages of food and water because of this, and what is worst “they are not taking any action to stop this from happening.”
Asked about the UK government’s pledges to achieve the ‘net zero’ target by 2050 and boost the use of electric vehicles as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “Green Revolution,” Mary said they are “too little too late.”
“We need to take drastic actions now. People in countries further south are suffering terribly, there are already wars over resources because of climate change,” she stressed.
Juliana, a Brazilian national who joined the protest with her children, said she had brought them with her because “their future is at stake”
The so-called “Impossible Rebellion,” which XR said will last two weeks, started on Monday, with protests in other parts of central London. The ecological movement is also planning to target the City – the heart of UK’s financial sector – to protest against banks financing fossil fuel companies.
The protests have been peaceful so far, but the Metropolitan Police confirmed that a “number of arrests” have been made. (ANI/Sputnik)
Ethnic groups stage protest in Paris against China's abusive policies on CCP centenary( Pic credits ANI)
During the demonstration, protestors organised street plays to depict China’s crack down on critics …reports Asian Lite News
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, anti-China and dissident groups including Tibetans, Uyghurs, the Falun Gong and Mongolians gathered in front of the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday to protest against the abusive policies of the Chinese regime.
During the demonstration, the protestors enacted street plays to depict how China was muzzling the voices of dissent and carrying out human rights abuses against the various ethnic groups, especially Uyghurs.
Ethnic groups stage protest in Paris against China’s abusive policies on CCP centenary( Pic credits ANI)
China has earned the ire of the international community for gross human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in an attempt to erase their cultural identity. Reportedly, over two million Uyghurs are detained in internment camps in Xinjiang, where they endure torture, indoctrination and other atrocities.
Meanwhile, in what is believed to be a historic decision, a Paris court has called for an investigation in “concealment of crimes against humanity” against clothing brands like Zara, Uniqlo and SMCP because their products are made through forced labour by Uyghurs.
The decision of the court was following a complaint filed by Uyghur Institute Europe, Sherpa and the Bourdon Law firm. The investigation will be carried out by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s office. Earlier, the United States had announced a series of actions aimed against forced labour in China’s Xinjiang.
Ethnic groups stage protest in Paris against China’s abusive policies on CCP centenary( Pic credits ANI)
The Biden administration seeks to ensure that the US continues to remove goods made with forced labour from the supply chains through actions by the Department of Homeland Security’s US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Labor.
“These actions demonstrate our commitment to imposing additional costs on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for engaging in cruel and inhumane forced labour practices and ensuring that Beijing plays by the rules of fair trade as part of the rules-based international order.
The United States believes that state-sponsored forced labour in Xinjiang is both an affront to human dignity and an example of the PRC’s unfair economic practices,” the White House said.
Myanmar refugees staged a protest against China's support to the new military rule in Myanmar at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday 03rd March, 2021. (Photo: IANS)
Global rights groups have called for unconditional release all those wrongfully held and end all collective punishment….reports Anwesha Bhaumik
Myanmar security forces are arbitrarily arresting and detaining family and friends of activists, protesters and opposition members.
The trend is increasing, says global rights groups, who demand the authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all those wrongfully held and end all collective punishment.
Since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, security forces have detained at least 76 people, including an infant, during raids when they were unable to find the person they sought to arrest, according to documentation by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
At least 48 of those people are still in detention, with some now held for more than three months.
“Seizing family members and friends as hostages is a thuggish tactic by Myanmar’s security forces to terrorize the population and coerce activists to turn themselves in,” said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“The authorities should end the practice of collective punishment immediately and release everyone held on this illegal basis.”
Security forces unable to find specific suspects have arrested their parents, children, other relatives, and friends who happened to be present during the search.
On March 8, security forces searching for lawyer Robert San Aung seized his daughter and brother-in-law and held them for 18 days before releasing them.
On April 22, security forces searching for Pu Do Sian Pau, a member of the opposition Civil Disobedience Movement, seized his mother and his 70-year-old father, a retired pastor of the Cope Memorial Baptist Church. Both are still in detention.
On April 29, security forces searching for Salai Bawi Uk Thang, the editor-in-chief of the Chinland Post newspaper, detained his father. He is still in detention.
On May 23, security forces arrested the parents and younger brother of a striking worker from the fire department. All three relatives are still in detention.
In some cases, witnesses allege that the security forces beat the relatives before detaining them.
Tin Htut Paing, an activist who is in hiding, told the media that, on May 2, security forces searching for him and his brother beat his 90-year-old grandmother and 64-year-old mother.
Security forces detained his mother and charged her with “incitement”. On May 28, she was sentenced to three years in prison.
According to the AAPP, security forces searching for Associate Judge Kaung Myat Thu of Chaung-U Township Court beat his mother before arresting her. His mother is still in detention
Young children and even an infant have also been detained, at least temporarily. Security forces detained five relatives of strike leader Ko Jay Lah, including two girls aged two and four.
Similarly, forces searching for protest leader U Tan Win detained his wife and 20-day-old baby.
While in both cases the family members were released later the same day, the arrests send a chilling message to activists and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement that no member of their family is safe, HRW’s Robertson said.
Myanmar refugees staged a protest against China’s support to the new military rule in Myanmar at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday 03rd March, 2021. (Photo: IANS)
The detention of people based solely on their relationship to another person is a form of collective punishment, which violates the right to liberty and security of person and the right to a fair trial.
“Myanmar’s junta has taken unlawful detention to a noxious new level by detaining those close to people who themselves should not be facing arrest,” Robertson said.
“Concerned governments should urgently impose targeted sanctions and a global arms embargo or expect the junta to continue to raise the stakes on abusive actions.”
Last month, the Burmese army Tatmadaw used villagers as shields during their attempt to regain control of the Mindat town in the Chin Hills.
“Using civilians as shield is a gross violation of the rules of war,” said Amrita Dey, an author of a volume on Myanmar.
Demonstrators take part in a protest in London, Britain uk
The demonstrations are also being held as a way of calling for better action to tackle institutional racism within Britain…reports Asian Lite News
People across the UK will be taking the knee on Tuesday evening to mark the one-year death anniversary of George Floyd, the African-American who was killed in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis on this day last year.
It is part of events planned worldwide to commemorate his death, reports dpa news agency.
The demonstration, which has been organised by campaigners Stand Up To Racism and the UK’s Trade Union Congress, will see people in cities and towns across England, Scotland and Wales show their support for black lives.
A year on from the death of George Floyd, the fight for justice continues in the UK and across the world.
The demonstration involves people kneeling down on one knee at 5 p.m. in memory of Floyd, who died after police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes in an act of police brutality.
The demonstrations are also being held as a way of calling for better action to tackle institutional racism within Britain.
The act of taking a knee is inspired by former US football player Colin Kaepernick, who first took the knee during the US national anthem at a football game in 2016 in protest against racial injustice and how black people are treated by police in the US.
Floyd’s death prompted a wave of protests around the world and sparked conversations about how black people still face discrimination.
US President Joe Biden will meet Floyd’s family later Tuesday.
According to data from Mapping Police Violence, a further 140 black people died at the hands of police in the US after Floyd’s death last year.
The total was 248.
This year, 89 people have so far died at the hands of US police officers.
The armed resistance at Mindat marks a dramatic transformation of the pro-democracy movement from a peaceful protest agitation to an armed one…reports Anwesha Bhaumik
Heavy fighting continued in Mindat town in Myanmar’s Chin state on Saturday, as civilian fighters fought the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw, braving heavy artillery barrages.
Two more resistance fighters died on Friday, bringing the death toll to three, said a spokesman of the resistance who called himself “John”.
“John” told IANS the Mindat Defense Force were not taking cognisance of a declaration of martial law by the Myanmar military junta.
“We just don’t care for such declarations. We will fight on and not allow the Tatmadaw enter our town,” said John.
The armed resistance at Mindat marks a dramatic transformation of the pro-democracy movement from a peaceful protest agitation to an armed one, that could dramatically escalate Myanmar’s civil war so far restricted to ethnic border regions like Kachin, Karen and Rakhine provinces.
A demonstrator stacks bags on a street as a barricade during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar(ians)
While hundreds of Burmese protesters have fled and joined armed resistance groups like the Federal Army and United Defence Force and are now receiving training at Karen and Kachin rebel bases, the defence by Chin boys and girls armed with just hunting rifles and gunpowder used locally is turning into an epic symbol of the resistance.
The junta describes the Chin resistance fighters as ‘armed terrorists’.
John said the Mindat Defense Force is just 300-400 boys and girls with a sprinkling of local police and former Chin insurgents, armed with barely 100 hunting rifles, but adept at using the hill terrain to tie down a demoralised Burmese army.
He said the Tatmadaw is pounding the Mindat town with artillery from a base in Magwe 33 km away.
“They have also brought in snipers who killed two of our fighters,” John told IANS.
“We are not able to retrieve the two dead bodies or rescue the wounded since the junta troops are opening fire on anyone who appears on the streets.”
A Myanmar police officer
“The junta troops are trying to enter into the town via both the west and east entrances while we are protecting our town. Fighting at the east side of the town is intensifying. Shootouts also occurred downtown,” he added.
The civilian resistance fighters also reportedly seized about six military vehicles from Kyaukhtu that were approaching Mindat during the shootouts.
A viral video on social media shows weapons and provisions on about six vehicles abandoned by the fleeing junta troops being taken by Chin civilian resistance fighters.
Local residents also said that at least five junta troops were reportedly killed during the shootouts on the east side of the town on Friday.
Fighting between junta troops and the Mindat Defense Force resumed on Wednesday night after a ceasefire in late April broke down.
The military regime declared martial law for Mindat on Thursday night after bombarding the town with artillery in response to the residents’ week-long resistance.
Under martial law, those who commit one of 23 “offenses” in the town will be tried in military courts and face penalties ranging from death, indefinite jail terms with labor and the maximum possible punishments under existing legislation, said orders signed by the military regime’s secretary Lieutenant-General Aung Lin Dwe.
Myanmar protests
The 23 offenses also include high treason, sedition, obstruction of military personnel and civil servants performing their duties, possession of weapons, ties to unlawful associations and violence.
However, the martial law declaration has had no effect on the town since 60 per cent of Mindat is under the control of its residents, said a member of Mindat’s People Administration, who identified himself as “Lian”.
“Our people do not accept the marital law. Currently, we are concentrating on the shootouts. We can govern the whole town, except the police station and some places,” Lian said.
Since 6 p.m. on Thursday, shootouts started on the Mindat-Matupi highway, which is located on the west edge of the town.
Mindat Defense Force fighters defended the approach to the town against about 11 vehicles carrying 250 junta troops on a probing mission.
Security guards are seen at the entrance of the City Hall in Yangon, Myanmar
Meanwhile shootouts have been happening on the highway connecting Mindat and Magwe region’s Kyaukhtu on the east side of the town since Thursday morning.
Civilian resistance fighters there are fighting against about 180 junta troops from Kyaukhtu that are approaching the town.
Also, civilian resistance fighters resisting junta troops at the east side of the town have also been attacked by artillery based in Kyaukhtu, John told IANS.
Mindat Defense Force said in its statement on Friday that the military has used reinforced troops, heavy explosives, artillery, rocket propelled grenades and automatic machine guns in the shootouts with civilian resistance fighters.
In the firefights, most civilian resistance fighters are using traditional percussion lock firearms, a kind of hunting rifle.
The firearm uses technology dating back to the early 19th century.
On Friday, residents were told by the Mindat’s People Administration to dig bomb shelters as two military helicopters were hovering over the town.
Photo taken on Feb. 1, 2021 shows a resting place for federal parliamentarians blocked by the military in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.(Photo by U Soe/Xinhua/ians)
On Thursday night, shootouts between junta troops and resistance fighters occurred at Mindat’s police station near the headquarters of the military’s Battalion 274.
After the initial encounters, the Tatmadaw troops opened indiscrminate fire on the town.
In Thursday’s encounter, an ethnically Chin teenager was killed and six other members of Chin state’s civilian resistance forces were wounded by junta artillery.
Armed resistance by Mindat residents started on April 26 with an attack on the police station after junta forces broke promises to release seven young anti-regime protesters.
On April 26 and 27, the Mindat Defense Force attacked military reinforcements approaching the town using homemade percussion lock firearms, leaving at least 20 junta troops dead.
The military casualties led to talks with residents and a ceasefire in April that broke down this week.
“Social media has been blocked for a few hours so that troublemakers can not use it during Friday prayers congregations,” said an official…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan on Friday blocked social media platforms amid fears that activists of a radical Islamist group might use the technology to stoke violent protests against last year’s depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in France.
Followers of far-right Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a group that supports the country’s controversial blasphemy laws, have blocked roads and chocked streets at deadly protests that started on Monday, reports dpa news agency.
The protesters are demanding that the government fulfil an earlier promise to expel the French Ambassador by April 20 over the publication of a cartoon depicting the prophet last year.
At least five people including two police officers have been killed in the protests, which have prompted the France Embassy in Islamabad to urge French nationals to leave Pakistan temporarily.
“Social media has been blocked for a few hours so that troublemakers can not use it during Friday prayers congregations,” an official told dpa.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok are inaccessible across the country, including the capital Islamabad.
Political parties, Islamist groups and militant organisations like Pakistani Taliban heavily rely on social media platforms to connect with their followers.
A comment published by European Foundation for South Asian Studies says that violent protests organised by the Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh (HIB) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ recent visit to Bangladesh may herald the dawn of a potent new extremist entity. A special comment by Dr Sakariya Kareem
The recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to neighbouring Bangladesh was a huge success. Five agreements relating to trade, disaster management, information technology and sports were signed during the visit, foundation stones for infrastructure development at a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh were laid, and a new train service between India and Bangladesh was launched.
The visit began with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally greeting Modi upon his arrival at Dhaka airport on 26 March, and telling an audience in a parade square in Dhaka that Bangladesh’s relations with India had reached a new high such that “If we move forward hand in hand, the development of our people is inevitable”. But there were some organisations want to spoil the friendship between India and Bangladesh. One among them was the Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh (HIB), a radical Islamic organisation.
They decided on the eve of Modi’s visit to launch a countrywide protest campaign. The English translation of the group’s name roughly corresponds to “safeguarding Islam in Bangladesh”. Formed in 2010, the HIB operates unregulated Qawmi Madrassas (religious schools) across Bangladesh.
The group first caught the public eye when in 2013 it effectively seized Dhaka with more than half a million activists, most drawn from the Qawmi Madrassas. It insisted that the Sheikh Hasina government meet a set of 13 demands, including the enactment of an anti-blasphemy law with provision for the death penalty, the cancellation of the national women’s development policy, the enforcement of Islamic religious garb such as the hijab, a ban on constructing sculptures in public places and on men and women mixing in public, and the declaration of Ahmadis as non-Muslims.
The targets of the HIB included free thinkers, liberal forces and advocates of inclusive values and culture. The government cracked down on the HIB in May 2013, and normalcy returned to the streets of the capital after several HIB leaders were either killed or arrested by the security forces.
Modi meets Hasina(ians)
The European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) released a commentary on March 19 in the run-up to Modi’s visit to Bangladesh. It had visualized a successful visit in tune with the warm and welcoming atmosphere that by most accounts awaited him in Dhaka. The visit, indeed, did turn out to be a success. An important aspect which that Commentary was remiss in glossing over, however, was the potential impact that organisations and individuals with an extremist bent of mind could have had in shaping the imagery around the visit. Perhaps the near absence of reporting of extremist incidents in the Bangladeshi media in recent months had lulled us into believing that Sheikh Hasina, through her concerted and laudable efforts in that direction, had finally managed to tame the devil of extremism that had plagued the country for the most part of its 50-year existence.
An editorial in the Bangladeshi English language broadsheet The Daily Star had pointed out as recently as on 8 March that “there has been no palpable activity by the religious extremist groups since the brutal Holey Artisan killings in July 2016”.
Some other observations made in The Daily Star editorial were noteworthy. It commented that “One hears very often from a few inveterate optimists that Bangladesh has seen the end of religious extremism. We have been continually cautioning against entertaining any euphoria that absence of demonstrative activity on their part is not an indication of the demise of the religious extremists altogether…
“That they have not been able to launch any major attack since 2016 speaks of the success of our security agencies, particularly the Anti-Terrorism Task Force… And it is the political issues that these groups would exploit primarily, gaining of political power being their ultimate objective without which their religious objective would remain unfulfilled. A political void or a turmoil is what they wait for to pounce”. As it turned out, in the midst of the prevalent enthusiasm on both sides that bilateral relations between the two neighbours would continue to grow, Modi on 27 March concluded his two-day official visit amid violent protests engineered by a Bangladeshi extremist group that is looking to announce its change of direction and focus to the country.”
HIB: The rise of new extremist entity in Bangladesh(ians)
After the crackdown in May 2013, the Sheikh Hasina government entered into serious behind-the-scene negotiations with the HIB leadership that yielded a fragile peace between the two sides. The government developed a close relationship with some HIB leaders, most notably with the outfit’s then chief Shah Ahmad Shafi.
A few factors, especially the fact that at that stage the HIB was not a political party with an explicit political agenda to take over power, had facilitated the establishment of such a relationship. The HIB’s strength lay in its institutional architecture as a networked organization of thousands of Madrassas spread all over the country. The social acceptability of the HIB was bolstered by the fact that the Madrassas offered free boarding to hundreds of orphans, catered to the social need for Islamic rituals and services, and received a significant part of zakat, charity payments that form a pillar of the Islamic faith. This too had encouraged the government to associate with the HIB.
The death of Shafi in September last year, however, tilted the balance of power within the HIB towards the more extremist anti-government faction within it. Shafi’s successor as Amir, Junayed Babunagari, was educated for 4-year in his 20s in Pakistan, first at the Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia and then at the Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi.
A hardliner in his views, Babunagari did not waste time in overturning the more moderate vision of HIB espoused by his predecessor and in adopting a more political posture. This transformation had been brought out by The Daily Star’s senior correspondent Rashidul Hasan in an article published on 9 December 2020 in which he averred that the HIB was turning into a political party for all practical purposes. He wrote, “Hefajat-e-Islam is now more than a political party with the strategic disclaimer of having no political agenda”.
Another aspect highlighted by Rashidul Hasan pertained to the linkages that the revamped HIB under Babunagari had forged. Hasan contended that “About one-third of its (HIB) leaders of the new committee who seized control come from political parties who are part of a 20-party alliance led by BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party)”.
Modi meets Hasina(ians)
BNP leader Khaleda Zia has been closely aligned with the banned fundamentalist Islamist party the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), and the two parties have earlier combined to form the government in Dhaka. Presently politically marginalized, the BNP sees the ambitious fresh leadership of the HIB as a potent weapon in its incessant attempts to topple Sheikh Hasina.
Some Bangladeshi experts believe that the HIB today has become a front for the JeI, which calls for Shariat rule in Bangladesh. Over the last few years the outlawed JeI, which has also been marginalized in Bangladeshi society and reduced to tatters by Sheikh Hasina’s fervently anti-extremist policy, has been trying to resurrect itself by infiltrating the HIB.
The JeI is known to maintain strong links with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the suggestion that the Pakistani intelligence agency is the driving force behind the efforts to bring the JeI and the HIB closer to each other has also been made by responsible sections of the media.
The violence that the HIB triggered in Bangladesh on 26 March, even as Modi landed in the country, and which continued for several days thereafter, need to be viewed against this backdrop. The violence began in Dhaka, where dozens were injured in clashes between HIB members ostensibly protesting Modi’s visit, and the police, which was forced to use rubber bullets and tear gas against the disruptive protesters. It spread to several other districts, and in Chittagong five HIB members were killed when the police opened fire on a group that had attacked a police station.
As the violence escalated and attacks on government property, police stations and trains by HIB activists intensified, another 6 people were killed on 27 March and 2 more the following day. At least 26 police personnel were also injured in the clashes. Javed Rahim, a journalist in Brahmanbaria town where the last two deaths occurred, described the scene to Reuters by phone, “Brahmanbaria is burning. Various government offices were set on fire indiscriminately. Even the press club was attacked and many injured, including the press club president. We are in extreme fear and feeling really helpless”.
Significantly, HIB activists also attacked and vandalized temples of the minority Hindu community. Also a Hindu, and one who unabashedly espouses the Hindu cause, Modi visited two Hindu temples during his visit.
The Bangladesh government appears to have taken the HIB provocation with the degree of seriousness that it deserves. The initial reaction by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was firm, and he sounded as though he meant business. Calling for the protests to be halted, he warned, “Our security forces are observing this with patience. We think if this is not stopped, we’ll take necessary actions”.
Sheikh Hasina did not mince words either in her address to parliament on April 4.
Describing Islam as a religion of peace, she averred that terms such as extremism and terrorism were linked to Islam due to the misdeeds of some people. She denounced the HIB for carrying out destruction in the name of Islam, and called out the BNP and the JeI for giving the HIB patronage. Terming the HIB-led mayhem at a time when the nation was celebrating the golden jubilee of its independence as deplorable, she asserted, “Did Hefazat do it alone? The BNP-Jamaat alliance is behind it”.
Recalling that the BNP and the JeI had issued separate messages on 27 and 28 March supporting the HIB, Hasina said this proved their part in the conspiracy against the State. She accused the two parties of being bereft of any ideology as they supported the violent protests led by the HIB against Modi’s visit, but at the same time welcomed Modi when he reached Bangladesh to attend the country’s golden jubilee celebrations. Hasina assured the parliament that those responsible for the violence would be brought to justice.
“I can only say that legal action will be taken against those responsible for such misdeeds”, she said. Reports suggest that the Bangladesh government has decided to re-activate over 80 terrorism-related cases against the HIB and its members.
The Indian government in its comments on Modi’s visit to Bangladesh noted that it had facilitated “significant decisions” to reinforce the legacy of 1971 and to deepen India-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation. On the violence by the HIB, it said, “As far as the violence is concerned, we have always been against fundamentalism and extremism. We are confident that the Bangladesh government will address the challenge”.
While timing them to coincide with Modi’s visit may have served the desired purpose of assuring maximum airtime for the HIB, the real purpose of the protests, which Sheikh Hasina seems to have recognized and is gearing up to confront, was to announce spectacularly the arrival of the HIB under its fresh leadership as the new political force that seeks to “safeguard” Islam in Bangladesh.
The protest turned violent within hours as several thousand stick-wielding demonstrators took to the streets vandalising a number of public offices and setting them on fire, he said…reports Asian Lite News.
At least one person was killed and several others were wounded after a protest against Covid-19 restrictions turned violent in Bangladesh, police said on Tuesday.
The demonstration in the south-western town of Saltha ensued Monday evening after rumours spread that a man was beaten by officials who were monitoring compliance with the coronavirus lockdown, local police chief Mohammad Alimuzzaman told dpa news agency.
The protest turned violent within hours as several thousand stick-wielding demonstrators took to the streets vandalising a number of public offices and setting them on fire, he said.
Police fired bullets and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators who broke into a local police station at one point, an incident that left one protester dead, Alimuzzaman said.
“The bullets were fired in self-defence,” the officer said, adding several other people incluing policemen were wounded during the clashes.
Additional police were deployed in the area as a precaution, he said.
Bangladesh on Monday began a seven-day lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19 with many in the capital Dhaka defying the shutdown orders.
Small traders staged demonstrations in the centre of the capital on the first day of the lockdown, calling on the government to allow them to keep their businesses open as long as they followed health guidelines.
The government ordered the people to generally stay indoors and shut down means of transport and shopping malls.
Factories were allowed to operate provided the owners ensure proper health measures.
20 injured in blast
At least 20 people were injured in a blast at the residence of a Bangladesh municipality Mayor.
The incident took place at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday night when Haji Abdus Salam, the Mayor of Mirkadim municipality in Munshiganj district, was attending a meeting with councillors and other officials in the second floor of the building.
The injured people included four councillors and the Mayor’s wife. Salam however, remained safe.
Twelve of the injured were immediately taken to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, while one person is undergoing treatment at Munshiganj General Hospital.
Meanwhile, physicians of the Dhaka hospital told the media that one of the patients has been taken to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with 60 per cent burn injuries.
Abu Bakar Siddique, officer-in-charge of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station, said the reason behind the blast could not be ascertained immediately.
The latest demonstrations came a month after several protests against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill turned violent in Bristol…reports Asian Lite News
Protests were staged in London and in 24 other towns and cities across England and Wales against the UK government’s new crime bill, local media reported.
Police in London had warned people against joining the protests on Saturday, saying in an open letter that anyone who attends a gathering that breaches coronavirus restrictions may be committing an offence, reports Xinhua news agency.
In a statement, Deputy Assistant Commissioner , who is leading the Metropolitan Police’s strategic response to Covid-19, said: “While we welcome the limited relaxation of rules, we don’t want to become complacent. We are hugely grateful to the vast majority of Londoners who have played a vital part in controlling the spread of the virus up to now.
“After a long and difficult few months, let’s not undo all of that hard work now.
“Wherever possible, we should continue to be vigilant, minimise our contact as much as possible, wear a face covering where required and keep ourselves safe. That means avoiding any large gathering.”
The latest demonstrations came a month after several protests against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill turned violent in Bristol.
Officers in riot gear and dogs were sent in to clear the streets while 10 people were arrested during the “Kill the Bill” demonstration late March.
The bill would give the police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those deemed to be too noisy or a nuisance.
Those convicted under the bill could face a fine or jail.
Covid regulations have since been relaxed and protests are now lawful in England and Wales.
However, protest organisers must submit a risk assessment and take steps to limit the potential transmission of coronavirus, according to The Guardian newspaper.
Last month, police in Bristol were criticised for crackdowns on three protests against the bill, with officers in riot gear and dogs sent in to clear the streets three times in the city in the space of a week.
Protesters have attacked police in Bristol after thousands of people turned up to a demonstration that officers had “strongly advised” against attending.
Officers suffered broken bones and police vans were set alight as angry scenes unfolded in downtown Bristol, according to media reports.
Protest held in Brussels against genocide by Pak army in Bangladesh(Twitter)
Protestors raised demand for EU,UN recognition of 1971 genocide…reports Asian Lite News
A protest was staged in front of the European institutions to mark the 50th anniversary of 1971 Bangladesh genocide.
The demonstration was organised by various civil society and human rights organisations in Europe as well as the Bengali organisations.
The demonstration paid tribute to the 2-3 Million victims of genocide which was committed by the Pakistan army and also called for its international recognition.
“We need to remember this genocide incident 50 years later and never forget the brutality of this massacre in which Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists in Bangladesh were oppressed and tortured. The Hindu community lost its land and was slaughtered by the Pakistani army ,said human right activist Manel Msalmi.
She also called for global Acknowledgment of 1971 genocide mainly because it remains unrecognized in comparison to the other genocides in Europe and Africa.
The Bengali Genocide Remembrance Day is a national day commemorated on March 25 in Bangladesh to pay tribute to the victims of the 1971 genocide.
Andy Vermaut, organiser of this protest stressed that “3 million people were killed in Bangladesh in 1971 in an organized genocide. More than two hundred thousand girls were brutally raped. “The old patterns of behavior of the Pakistan of yesteryear, has scarred the people of Bangladesh to this day” “The wounds are impossible to heal if the world does not dare to officially recognize the horror of 50 years ago”.
“I ask for a general pardon from all member states in the face of inaction on the scenes Bangladesh has faced” ‘I wish to apologize on my own behalf for what the international community failed to do, thus causing so many casualties’. I hope you can muster the spiritual and moral sense of duty to do”,he added.
