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More than 100 people, including journalists, policemen and pedestrians, were injured as Islamist party activists on Friday clashed with the lawmen, turning Paltan in Dhaka into a battlefield for more than three hours.
The Islamists snatched away a loaded shotgun from a police havildar at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram during the clashes.
Witnesses said the clash began when several hundred activists under the banner of the Committee against Anti-Qur’anic Laws tried to bring out a procession immediately after the juma prayers against the National Women Development Policy.
Islami Ain Hefajat Committee led by Fazlul Haque Amini, Chhatra Jamiat Bangladesh led by Maulana Mohiuddin Khan and Ahkame Shariah Hefajat Committee led by former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Delwar Hossain Saidee and publicity secretary of the organisation Taslim Ahmed teamed up under the banner.
As the police tried to stop the activists from bringing out the procession, they started clashing with the lawmen, by throwing stones at them from the north gate of the national mosque.
The lawmen charged at the activists with truncheons, and fired teargas shells and rubber bullets to disperse them, resulting in the clashes, which took place in the Dainik Bangla and Paltan crossings and the north and south gates of Baitul Mukarram and the alleys in the area.
The activists divided into several groups took shelter in a lane by the GPO and kept throwing stones. Another group and the police continued chasing each other at the north gate of the mosque.
The Islamist activists at one point set fire to some old clothes and carpets after collecting them from shops and controlled the stretch between the crossings of Dainik Bangla and Paltan. A group at the south gate attacked havildar Riyad and snatched away his shotgun, which was loaded.
The police started clubbing the activists and firing rubber bullets and teargas shells after the deployment of the law enforcers had been reinforced.
More than 10 journalists of print and electronic media, 40 policemen and 60 activists and pedestrians were injured in the clashes.
The police deployment was again reinforced and the lawmen used a water canon at about 3:00pm to control the situation. Most of the Islamist activists took refuge inside the mosque. But the lawmen could arrest two of the seriously injured.
Traffic through the roads in the Paltan areas remained suspended till 5:00pm.
A high police official told New Age, ‘The police fired 312 teargas shells and 243 rubber bullets to tackle the situation.’
‘The police arrested 10 activists at the protests and 52 policemen of different ranks were injured in the clash,’ he said.
Motijheel zone police deputy commissioner Mazharul Islam told newsmen, ‘The police managed to recover the shotgun which the activists snatched from a havildar.’
The injured were admitted to Markajul Islam Hospital, Dhaka Orthopaedics Hospital and Dhaka Medical College Hospital and the injured policemen taken to Rajarbagh Police Line Hospital.
The duty officer at the Paltan police station said, ‘We are preparing to file cases against the Islamist activists.’
Islami Ain Hefajat Committee, meanwhile, demanded resignation of the women affair adviser, Rasheda K Chowdhury, for formulating rules running counter to the Qur’an in the name of the Women Development Policy.
The government must withdraw the sections in the police which are against the Qur’an, said Amini at a briefing at the office of the monthly Madina in Noakhali Tower. ‘We will, otherwise, continue holding protests.’
Amini, who is also charman of Islami Oikya Jote, said the police had attacked them without any provocation.
He claimed more than 100 activists of the organisation had been injured in the clashes. ‘We were holding a rally to drum up support for our demand. But the government is not fulfilling our demand.’
Amini threatened the government by saying that the ‘fire that was started on Friday will spread to every corner of the country.’
The Dhaka-Kolkata passenger train service deal was signed at the Bangladesh secretariat on Thursday to resume the railway communications which remained snapped for 42 years.
The communications secretary, Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, and the Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, signed the agreement at the ministry.
‘It is a historic moment for us… Through the agreement, the railway communications between the two countries have been restored,’ said Mahbubur Rahman, after signing the agreement.
He said the signing of the three-year deal between the two countries was an outcome of all-out efforts from both the sides. ‘It will help to develop cooperation in other areas of bilateral interests. More opportunities will open up in various sectors once the passenger train operation resumes.’
Pinak Ranjan said the train communications would be reconnecting the two countries. ‘All worked hard to make it possible. This is a beginning of new chapters in connectivity in the region and between the two countries. The SAARC summit in Delhi decided to facilitate the connectivity among the member countries… The train communications will further facilitate trade and commerce between the two countries.’
Asked about the future of the deal signed with a caretaker government, he hoped that following governments would not create any obstacles to the agreement. ‘Everything will be all right once the train starts running between the countries.’
Bangladesh and India have made all the preparations to commission the Maitree Express on Pahela Baishakh, the Bangla New Year, which falls on April 14 in both the countries this time.
Tickets for the inaugural trip will be available at the Kamalapur railway station from today.
The Maitree Express will leave the Dhaka Cantonment station at 8:30am and reach Kolkata at 9:00pm on April 14 through the Darshana border. The communications adviser, Ghulam Quader, will be present, among others, at the inauguration of the train service
Metal detectors, luggage scanners and archways have been set up at the Darshana station for immigration and customs formalities and the luggage scanning for outgoing passengers would be done at the time of departure at the Dhaka Cantonment station, said official sources, adding that security forces, including the railway police, would be deployed to ensure security at the stations.
The Maitree Express will run from the Cantonment station in Dhaka and Chitpur station in Kolkata.
Immigration formalities would take at least five hours at Darshana in Bangladesh and Gede in India and the journey would take eight hours by the Maitree Express train with an accommodation capacity of 418 passengers, said officials.
India has already set up a metal structure 150 yards off no man’s land near Joynagar as a preparation for the train service resumption.
A train will leave Dhaka for Kolkata every Saturday and return to Dhaka every Sunday and another train will leave Kolkata every Saturday and will go back every Sunday.
Train fares will be between $8 and $20 depending on the classes for the 538km journey — 418km in Bangladesh and 120km in India.
Passenger train communications between Bangladesh and India were snapped in 1965 following a war between India and Pakistan when Bangladesh, the then East Pakistan, was a part of Pakistan.
Earlier in 2001, Bangladesh and India governments signed the agreement to resume the railway service.
The day after its first parliamentary election, the world’s newest democracy is already learning that politics can spring a surprise. High in the Himalayas, Bhutan has always revelled in its isolation.
That is why a somewhat reluctant electorate was apprehensive about what democracy might bring. The two political parties ran for power on similar manifestos, utterly loyal to their king.
So the result was rather unexpected: a huge victory for one party - the Bhutan Prosperity Party - winning all but three of the seats in parliament. But do not expect revolutionary change in this traditional Buddhist kingdom.
The transition to democracy has been deliberately designed to be slow and steady. Both the new government and the opposition say they are committed to the king’s own five-year plan, and to the royal philosophy of Gross National Happiness, or GNH.
But what exactly does GNH mean? “It means there has to be a better balance between the spiritual and the material,” said Karma Tsheetem, the Secretary of the Gross National Happiness Commission.
“Whatever choices we make from now on - whether it’s to do with urbanisation or globalisation or the type of economy we develop - we will make sure it is in harmony with our tradition, our culture and the environment.” But GNH or not, some people are not happy.
Tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalese, who used to live in Bhutan, were forced to take refuge in camps in Nepal more than a decade ago. Their status is still in dispute.
We arranged a meeting in Thimpu with an ethnic Nepalese man whose parents are in exile in the camps. That family connection, he said, makes him a second class citizen in Bhutan.
“So many people have problems with the police clearance,” he said, “which is required for things like passports, promotion at work or even opening a small business.” He did not want his name to be used for fear of reprisal.
The Bhutanese authorities deny any discrimination. And in fact, nine ethnic Nepalese have been elected to the new parliament. But the status of an unsettled minority remains an unresolved problem for the new government.
There is no doubt, however, that the election itself was a success. It was well-organised and peaceful. Long lines of patient voters in national dress ensured a turn-out of nearly 80%.
But sometimes there was too much control, and not enough choice - a point made by election observers from the European Union. “We do think that plurality of viewpoints, and giving the voters a genuine choice of alternative ideologies, is important in democracies,” said EU observer Holly Ruthrauff.
“And this is one of the things we will highlight to the Bhutanese authorities, something they might want to work on in the future.” Perhaps the next generation will face more choice, as the political system develops.
But many people remain nervous about entering uncharted political waters. For the moment, the country is already focussing on the next big event in this year of change - the formal coronation of their young king. It is a reminder - if any were needed - that even in these new democratic times, the monarchy will continue to play the central role in Bhutanese life.
The United States has congratulated the people of Bhutan for holding elections to choose their first democratic government. The US state department said the vote marked “another positive step in Bhutan’s transition to a democratic, constitutional monarchy.”
Unofficial results show that the party of the former Prime Minister, Jigme Thinley, won a landslide victory. The move to democratic rule was proposed by Bhutan’s royal family.
A Japanese election observer, Takio Yamada, praised the way the vote had been conducted: “I think this is a success, a great success and great achievement for the Bhutanese people.
“This is a great step forward to achieving real democracy in this country.” Election commissioner Kunzang Wangdi said the Bhutan Harmony Party had won 44 of the 47 seats in the lower house.
A candidate for the winning party, Ugyen Tshering, said the result was positive for everyone: “We have not planned to have any grand celebrations.
“I think this victory is not about celebrating a victory over the other party, but this victory is a victory for the whole country.”
The vote for the National Assembly completes the country’s peaceful transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. An election for the upper house of parliament, the 25-seat National Council, was held in December.
The tiny Buddhist kingdom has been preparing for democracy since former monarch Jigme Singye Wangchuck decided to hand power to an elected government. The country is now headed by his 28-year-old son, King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, who will remain as head of state and is likely to retain some influence.
At least 40 people, including 10 policemen, were injured in Dhaka as Islamist party activists on Thursday clashed with the police at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram.
The clashes taking place on the stretch between the Paltan crossing and the Dainik Bangla crossing continued for more than an hour.
The activists set fire to two motorcycles of the law enforcers and vandalised seven vehicles near the mosque. Traffic remained disrupted for about two hours.
Witness said the clashes began when the police stopped a band of activists of the Islamic Constitution Movement, Khelafat Andolan, Islami Chhatra Majlish, Islami Oikya Jote and Khelafat Majlish, teamed up under the banner of the ‘committee on the protection of Qur’anic laws,’ headed for the Chief Adviser’s Office to submit a memorandum against the National Women Development Policy. Several hundred people of Islamist organisations assembled at the north gate of the mosque soon after the zuhr prayer and went out on demonstrations against the policy and demanded its cancellation.
The lawmen kept the activists confined inside the north gate of the mosque by putting up barricades on all the exit points.
After the demonstrations, ATM Hemayet Uddin of the Islamic Constitution Movement and Maulana Zafar Ullah Khan of Khelafat Majlish led a procession towards the Chief Adviser’s Office to submit the memorandum, but the police stopped them from marching ahead. As the party activists tried to break through the barricade at around 1:45pm, the police charged at them with truncheons and split the procession into two groups.
One of the groups rushed onto the road near the south gate of the mosque when the police continued charging at the other group with truncheons inside the gate. At least 30 of them were injured.
The group on the road clashed with the police by throwing stones, in which 10 policemen, including Motijheel zone assistant commissioner Pankaj Chandra Roy, were injured.
They also vandalised seven vehicles stranded on the roads and the other group set on fire two motorcycles of the lawmen parked inside the gate.
The injured activists were admitted to Markajul Islam Hospital, Dhaka Orthopaedics Hospital and Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The injured policemen were taken to Rajarbagh Police Line Hospital.
The Paltan police officer-in-charge, Farid Ahmed, in the afternoon told New Age, ‘The situation is under control and the police charged at the activists with truncheon as they brought out the procession in violation of the emergency rules.’
