Early in her political career, Sheikh Hasina was never afraid of challenges. She led a crusade against martial law in the 1980s when she was continuously detained, which eventually led to the 1991 parliamentary elections and the return to democracy.
But it turns out that replaced her since she took over as Bangladesh’s prime minister in 2009. Even as he boasted of his government’s successes, successive elections were marked by intimidation and fraud.
With elections scheduled for 2024 and the ruling Awami League party seeking a fourth consecutive term, Sheikh Hasina and her government are cracking down on the crusade activities of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Reporters reported Thursday that she told her party leaders and activists: “The hands raised behind us will have to be broken. “
Since the BNP announced it was planning a mass demonstration in the capital, Dhaka, on 10 December, members of the Awami League, subsidized through security forces, have violently stormed opposition demonstrations. Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the media that the government does not tolerate street gatherings. Ostensibly to prevent violence, police have beefed up security, set up checkpoints at the entrances to the capital and are searching buses and personal cars. The effect has been to intimidate opposition supporters.
On 7 December, one man was killed and more than 50 injured in clashes between police, the ruling Awami League and opposition supporters. Hundreds of opposition leaders and activists were arrested and the BNP headquarters was searched.
BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir criticized restrictions on nonviolent political activities and accused the government of creating an “atmosphere of panic. “attacks on the police.
The U. S. Embassy The U. S. government in Dhaka expressed concern and called on all parties to respect the rule of law and avoid violence, harassment and intimidation. Clément Voule, the U. N. special rapporteur on freedom of settlement and nonviolent assembly, said the government guarantees the right to nonviolent assembly and not to use superior force opposed to protesters.
Sheikh Hasina’s government has committed extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and torture supposedly to maintain power. Concerned governments publicly call on the prime minister to allow Bangladeshis to freely engage in nonviolent political activities.
Sheikh Hasina accepts the challenge of democratic rule, not authoritarian abuses.