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Current Affairs
Published: July 26, 2024

OCI Stands in Solidarity with the People of Bangladesh

Recent footage and images from Bangladesh are truly shocking. Police and the army firing live rounds at random unarmed protesters in the streets of Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.

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Andy Rowell

When not blogging for OCI, Andy is a freelance writer and journalist specializing in environmental issues.

[email protected]

Recent footage and images from Bangladesh are truly shocking. Police and the army firing live rounds at random unarmed protesters in the streets of Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.

An injured person, carried by a colleague, shot at close range by police. Other unarmed young men are casually shot in the street. A leading student activist shows the scars and bruises of a brutally beaten body.

Over 200 people have now been killed in Bangladesh including journalists, according to local reports. The estimates are likely to be much greater. Hundreds of journalists have also reportedly been injured.

The government has also cut the internet. leading to 300 civil society organizations from 105 countries worldwide demanding that “the people in Bangladesh have unfettered access to the internet, social media platforms, and other communication channels, to respect people’s rights enshrined in Bangladesh’s Constitution and the country’s international commitments, during the ongoing student protests throughout the country.”

What is happening in Bangladesh should be causing outrage, as a state systematically tries to silence those peacefully protesting. What started as a student protest against quotas for jobs in the government has now morphed into much, much more. It is a battle for free speech and the right to protest.

The violence means the demonstrators and students are now protesting against the incumbent government of Sheikh Hasina, and demanding that she apologise for the violence and sack those responsible.

The violence by the authorities has been widely condemned by those inside and outside the country: According to Zulkarnain Saer an investigative journalist in Bangladesh: “The use of such lethal weapons to disperse a civilian crowd is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions; lethal force against unarmed civilians is explicitly prohibited and is classified as a grave breach of international humanitarian law. Bangladesh is a signatory to these conventions. This constitutes a war crime.”

The UNHCR stated that it is deeply concerned by the violence and that “the attacks on student protesters are particularly shocking and unacceptable. There must be impartial, prompt and exhaustive investigations into these attacks, and those responsible held to account.”

The US Department of State added that “freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are essential building blocks of any thriving democracy, and we condemn any violence against peaceful protesters.”

Amnesty International called on law enforcement agencies to “immediately end their unlawful use of lethal force against protesters and ensure that the right of people to peaceful assembly is guaranteed in law and practice.”

Our partners in the Asian Pacific region released the following solidarity statements: 

A call to uphold human rights, justice and democratic freedoms

The Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) expresses in the strongest terms its condemnation of the violent and punitive acts of repression sweeping the capital city of Dhaka in Bangladesh. pic.twitter.com/jKkVLk56Vd

— APMDD (@AsianPeoplesMvt) July 22, 2024

The Fossil Free Japan coalition stands in solidarity with the people of Bangladesh. We strongly condemn the violence and the human rights infringements carried out across Bangladesh in response to peaceful protests.https://t.co/c2pU9v2D5s pic.twitter.com/DTYv11LnQI

— Fossil Free Japan (@FossilFreeJapan) July 24, 2024

So too have other civil society groups in the region. Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific says it is “alarmed over the escalating violence and killings and demands that the government of Bangladesh immediately halts any further application of any coercive forces against the agitating students.”

We cannot remain silent while young innocent peaceful people are shot and brutalized. 

OCI stands in solidarity with the people of Bangladesh and their right to undertake non-violent protest. We join others in calling on the Bangladeshi government to uphold human rights, justice and democratic freedoms and to stop all violence against the protesters. OCI also condemns the shrinking civic space in the country which must be reversed. Civil society must be able to operate freely and without fear.

We call on the Bangladesh government to ensure a peaceful resolution to the crisis, and the complete restoration of communication as soon as possible. Those responsible for murder and violence should be brought to justice. The world is watching. 

 

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