Monday • January 08, 2007

400 injured in capital and elsewhere: 200 arrested

Nationwide blockade halts life

The Dhaka city remained isolated from the rest of the country on the first day of the three-day non-stop rail-road-waterway-port blockade program observed nation-wide by the Awami League-led mega-combine since yesterday morning. At least 400 people suffered injuries in the capital, Satkhira, Sirajganj, Bhola, Savar, Tongi and other places in clashes between pickets and the law enforcers.

Awami League President and the premier leader of the mega-combine comprising the 14-party alliance, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Liberal Democratic Party, Zaker Party and a faction of the Islami Oikya Jote earlier called the three-day blockade demanding resignation of Prof. Iajuddin Ahmed from the post of Chief Adviser by President Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, rescheduling of the polls, publication of a corrected flawless voter list and withdrawal of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from polls duties and non-deployment of the army.

In the capital city, a series of clashes between the pro-blockade pickets and law enforcers took place at Shyamali, Mirpur, Chawk Bazar, Moghbazar, Russell Square and Bangabandhu Avenue which left at least 100 people injured. Police picked up at least 100 pickets and passers-by from these spots of demonstrations.

Unlike the previous days of hartal or blockade programs, the law enforcers backed by members of the para-military BDR and army swung into action on the demonstrators and didn't allow the pickets of the mega-combine to take to the main thoroughfares anywhere in the capital.

However, hundreds of slogan-chanting leaders and activists of the mega-combine took to the streets at the central parts of the city defying unprecedented security net spread over those areas.

The clashes between police and the pickets at Shyamali ensued at about 10:30 in the morning when a procession of Awami League came under police action as the law enforcers didn't allow any procession or demonstrations in the locality.

The agitated demonstrators showered brick bats at the police from lanes and by lanes there and the series of clashes continued for three hours when the club-wielding policemen charged batons, lobbed over 100 tear gas canisters and fired rubber bullets leaving over 50 injured. Police picked up at least 50 pickets from the spots. Soon the clashes spread to nearby Shyamali Ring Road, Adabor, Sheikhertek and Mansurabad areas turning the entire localities into a battle field.

At one stage of the clashes, police had to retreat from the place of occurrence and later members of the armed forces were called in to tackle the situation.

Throughout the day yesterday, a strong contingent of law enforcers took position at Russell Square and its adjoining areas preventing the demonstrators from bringing out any march. They also encircled some leaders and activists of the 14-party combine when a march led by former home minister Mohammad Nasim reached the spot at noon. Police also charged batons on the demonstrators in their bid to disperse them.

Several attempts of the 14-party combine to bring out marches from different lanes and by-lanes adjoining Russell Square and Panthapath were foiled by baton-charging police which left at least 15 pickets including Awami League leaders Maj Gen (Retd) Subid Ali Bhuiyan and former legislator Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj injured. Police picked up at least 20 pickets from the spot.

At Mirpur Square-10, police prevented a procession led by former legislator Kamal Ahmed Mazumder from coming to the streets in the morning by charging batons that left 15 injured. The members of the armed forces took into their custody 10 pickets mostly women activists and later handed them over to police.

In the capital's Chawk Bazar area, police chased pickets in the morning when the mega-combine leaders and activists tried to bring out a march in favour of their action program. Police charged batons and lobbed several rounds of tear gas shells on the fleeing demonstrators. Eight activists suffered injuries in police action there while six demonstrators were picked up in police van from the spot.

Since early morning, hundreds of demonstrators in small processions assembled in the central parts of the capital including Bangabandhu Avenue, Muktangan, Syed Nazrul Islam Sarani in front of Ramna Bhaban and Peer Yameni Market and Golap Shah Mazar crossing chanting various anti-government slogans.

Police tried to prevent the marchers of Juba League and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Inu) by charging batons, but failed. Police picked up six pickets from the spot. At one stage, tension mounted as police tried to unload barbed wire fences from their trucks near Bangabandhu Avenue. The activists of Swechchasebak League foiled the attempt of the law enforcers. However, police didn't allow the mega-combine to erect any stage or truck-mounted daises anywhere in the capital. Some Awami League leaders alleged that they had to use hand-mikes as the law enforcers took away microphones from the demonstration spots in central Dhaka.

Later, leaders of the mega-combine including Tofail Ahmed, Begum Matia Chowdhury, Akhteruzzaman, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Pankaj Bhattacharjee, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya (Bir Bikram), Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Huq Inu, Syed Zafar Sajjad, Shirin Akhter, Dilip Barua, Abu Hossain Babla, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mirza Azam, AFM Bahaudin Nasim, Pankaj Debnath and other leaders addressed rallies at Muktangan and in front of Peer Yameni Market.

Speaking at the rallies, Tofail Ahmed said that the mega-combine along with the masses would resist collectively the President-cum-Chief Adviser Prof Iajuddin Ahmed's bid to hold a farcical unilateral national election on January 22 at any cost. He said the caretaker government headed by Prof Iajuddin Ahmed is a BNP-Jamaat dominated administration working against the people's hopes and aspiration to install his mentor Khaleda Zia at the helm of state affairs by arranging stage-managed polls.

"Our movement will continue till Prof Iajuddin quits the post of the Chief Adviser and appoint a non-partisan and neutral personality in that post….we will not allow anybody to hold a farcical election without a flawless corrected updated voter list in the soil of Bangladesh," Tofail Ahmed said urging the people from all strata to make the three-day blockade program a success.

Tongi: Police prevented a march of Awami League led by Advocate Azmatullah Master and former legislator Zahid Ahsan Russell from taking to the main roads. Later, a rally was held at Tongi rail crossing.

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