A mob armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods, and pipes attacks supporters of the ousted leader and prevents them from reaching a memorial for her father.
Protesters outside a residence in Dhaka, Bangladesh, rough up a supporter of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party. They suspect him of paying respect to her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on his death anniversary.
Hundreds of student protesters and political activists have attacked supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and stopped them from reaching the house of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the assassinated independence leader. They are vowing to protect Bangladesh’s student-led “revolution.”
Supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party called the rally on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the August 15, 1975 assassination of Rahman and other members of his family during a military coup. Hasina and her younger sister survived because they were in Germany at the time.
Hasina’s government had declared August 15 a national holiday. However, after Hasina’s downfall, the interim government, Muhammad Yunus canceled the holiday.
With no police in sight, hundreds of people armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods, and pipes blocked the entrance to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, Hasina’s family home in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, which was turned into a memorial for her father. Rahman, known as “Bangabandhu,” meaning “friend of Bengal,” is honored there.
The house was set on fire by protesters hours after Hasina, 76, resigned and fled to India on August 5, marking the dramatic end of her 15-year rule. Her ouster came after an uprising that resulted in over 300 deaths.
In her first public statement since her sudden departure, Hasina asked supporters earlier this week to “pray for the salvation of all souls by offering floral garlands and praying” outside the landmark.
Hasina’s opponents vowed to prevent her supporters from gathering, fearing they might create chaos under the guise of commemoration. Overnight, they held a party outside the museum, using loudspeakers and playing songs while dancing.
Fugitive and dictator Sheikh Hasina has ordered her goons and militia forces to come to the site to spark a counter-revolution,” Imraul Hasan Kayes, 26, told AFP news agency.
“We are here to protect our revolution and ensure it doesn’t slip away from us.”
Several people suspected of being Awami League supporters were beaten with sticks by the crowd, while others were forcibly removed.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s interim government announced on Thursday that the United Nations would investigate the “atrocities” committed during the weeks-long protests that led to Hasina’s ouster.
The announcement came after a phone conversation between Yunus and UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Wednesday. Interim government officials said UN investigators are expected to arrive next week.
Hasina’s government faced accusations of widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of thousands of political opponents during her 15-year rule.
Local authorities have also initiated investigations into allegations of murders, genocide, and crimes against humanity involving Hasina, her cabinet members, and top security officials.