The World Briefly
July 20, 2023A Heavy Hand
Bangladesh
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At least one person died and hundreds were injured across Bangladesh this week, after tens of thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down ahead of elections early next year, Al Jazeera reported.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other smaller parties launched the protests in the capital Dhaka and other cities.
Demonstrators demanded Hasina’s resignation and that elections take place under a neutral caretaker government. They also accused police of opening fire at BNP supporters, injuring at least 200 people.
Authorities have not commented on the violence. They also questioned whether the reported fatality was a result of clashes between the opposition and supporters of the ruling Awami League.
The protests are the latest unrest directed at Hasina and her ruling party, which have governed Bangladesh since 2009. The government has been accused of corruption and human rights abuses, including the detention of thousands of opposition activists and the killing of hundreds in extrajudicial detainments.
The BNP and its allies have also accused Hasina’s party of rigging the 2014 and 2018 elections.
Western governments have also raised the alarm about the political climate in Bangladesh, calling for free and fair elections next year.
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