It’s a huge power play by Jamaat-Shibir militants. In a 90-minute fiery batting and bowling with riot police, young Shibir activists torched three police cars, eight passenger buses, six motorbikes and stoned and damaged scores of passing vehicles in the capital Monday afternoon.
Central Dhaka encompassing Kakrail, Paltan, Bijoynagar, Fakirerpool and Malibagh virtually turned into a war field. The sky over the area was overcast with black smoke from burning cars while piercing pungent smell of barrage of tear gas canisters filled the whole area.
The traffic movement in the area was blocked from 4pm to 5-30pm breaking down the already messy traffic network system in the capital.
It all happened when police prevented thousands of Jamaat-Shibir activists from staging demonstration to press for release of top Jamaat leaders- Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, Delwar Hossain Syedee, Qamaruzzaman and Qader Mollah- and halting their trial for war crimes cases. It was Jamaat’s two-day countrywide program.
This had been a known practice by the police to obstruct the opposition’s anti-government demonstrations in recent days. And if it is of Jamaat or Shibir, the police perhaps got a standing order to foil it.
As usual, the police on Monday afternoon too obstructed the Jamaatis. But this time round the Jamaatis did not give a clean walkover to the police. Rather, they resisted, defied the police and were engaged in a brawl with the police.
Within moments, the violent protests spread out to different areas and streets. Unlike their usual character, the demonstrators attacked police, burnt their cars, ransacked a nearby police box and set ablaze or damaged passing buses and cars.
In retaliation police fired a barrage of tear gas shells but failed to control the mob. At one stage witnesses said police had to retreat and sought reinforcements from headquarters. After a 90-minute pitched battle, the situation was calmed down but scores of people including police and activists were injured and hundreds arrested.
This violent showdown was not confined to the capital Dhaka. It was staged in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Comilla and other cities and towns. Soon after the showdowns police began crackdown on the Jamaat-Shibir across the country. Jamaat acting secretary general ATM Azharul Islam, central publicity secretary Tasnim Alam and Sangram editor Abul Asad were on the list of arrestees.
The next day a magistrate court in Dhaka granted 19-day police remand to ATM Azhar, Tasnim and 181 other Jamaat leaders and workers in four cases related to violent acts filed with Paltan and Ramna police stations. The Sangram editor was handed a three-day remand.
In the changed scenario, BNP policymakers sat on emergency notice on Monday night and decided to enforce countrywide daylong hartal to protest the government’s undemocratic decision and repression of the opposition.
Reviewing the current spell of anti-government protests, some political analysts smelt a rat behind the Jamaat’s sudden onslaught on the government. They were taken aback to see the nature of violence, attacking police and burning their cars. They say Jamaat-Shibir did not display such fierce faces even after the arrest of Nizami and other top leaders.
What is ominous is that some people suspect involvement of provocateurs in escalation of Monday’s violence. In the power politics of this country, these provocateurs backed by unseen quarters have always played a significant role in the past.
The violence was staged when the prime minister was outside the country, in New York. It also coincided with the planned rally of BNP on September 27 where Khaleda Zia is supposed to map out the next course of anti-government agitation. Newspapers speculate that Khaleda’s programmes may include long march and road blockades.
At her last hunger strike showdown in the capital Begum Zia declared that she would not go for any more hartal; rather she would stage mass uprisings like Tahrir Square in Cairo to pull down the government. Within months she changed her mindset and showed her hartal card.
Recently, the BNP held a series of parleys with smaller political groups in a bid to expand her 4-party alliance to launch a vigorous movement. Some people think that Begum Zia has garnered support from the smaller parties as well as people in general. BNP’s planned rally on September 27 and spelling out of future action programme would indicate how serious Begum Zia is about forcing the government to concede to her demands that include early general elections under a non-party caretaker government.
Meanwhile, the ruling party plans to launch counter political programmes in a bid to face the opposition. Such counter-offensive tactics on the street however have boomeranged in the past. |