BANGLADESH: Bangladesh imposes curfew after student unrest

A curfew is imposed in Bangladesh capital Dhaka and five other cities after violent student protests that have killed one and injured about 300. Bangladesh's army-backed interim government ordered an indefinite curfew in the capital Dhaka and five other cities from Wednesday (August 22) evening after violent student protests, a government spokesman said. A man was killed and and about 300 people were injured during protests earlier on Wednesday. The victim, a rickshaw puller, was caught in clashes between police and students at a university in the northwestern city of Rajshani. At least 100 students were injured there. In the capital Dhaka, another 100 people were injured and at least eight vehicles were set ablaze, as riot police fired rubber bullet and teargas on violent students backed by political activists. Students from half a dozen colleges and universities took to the streets, chanting support for comrades at Dhaka University -- the country's largest -- who boycotted classes and exams for a third day. "Now is the time for a democratic government ", " Now is the time for people's government", "We don't accept illegal state of emergency" chanted one of the protesters. The continued protests came despite authorities closing down an army camp on the campus, meeting one of the protesters' demands. The students used stones and sticks while riot police fired teargas and wielded batons in running battles. The violence has shut shops, forced public transport off the streets and caused panic among residents in affected areas, witnesses said. The fighting had started there on Monday evening (August 20) after troops assaulted some students protesting against the presence of soldiers at a football match held at the gymnasium compound. Troops had been based in the complex since January when an interim administration took power after months of political violence in the country. On Tuesday (August 21), more than 150 students, mostly from Dhaka University, were injured in sporadic battles with police. Classes and exams at the 40,000-student school have remained suspended since then, with students across Bangladesh calling for a countrywide strike. The army-backed interim government withdrew the offending army camp on Tuesday night and promised to punish those responsible for starting the violence. But the students have refused to be appeased, and gained backing from political parties who called for an immediate end of the nation-wide ban on political activity imposed by the interim government after it took charge. Political analysts fear the student protest may pose a serious challenge to the army-backed government, which plans to hold a free and fair election late next year. In the run up to the polls, the government has launched a massive crackdown on corrupt politicians, in which more than 170 key political figures have been detained. Later on Wednesday, all eight private television channels stopped showing footage of the violence and mobile telephone networks went down after the curfew came into effect. There was no official comment concerning the disruption of the six cell phone operators serving around 20 million users.

ITN Source | August 22, 2007

Tags:. .protesting. .despite. .promised. .massive. .analysts