Mobs armed with bamboo sticks and pipes, on Thursday, violently attacked supporters of Bangladesh’s ousted ruling party, preventing them from holding their first significant gathering since their leader fled the country.
According to AFP, the mobs, committed to protecting Bangladesh’s student-led revolution, patrolled the location of a planned rally for the deposed prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Those suspected of supporting Hasina were beaten with bamboo rods and pipes.
Hasina, aged 76, escaped to neighboring India by helicopter last week as student-led protests surged through Dhaka, bringing an abrupt end to her 15-year authoritarian rule.
The interim government that has taken over, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has invited UN investigators to look into the violent “atrocities” that marked her ouster, which saw hundreds killed by security forces.
Thursday also marked the anniversary of the 1975 military coup that resulted in the assassination of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a revered figure in Bangladesh’s independence movement.
Under Hasina’s government, this date was declared a national holiday.
In previous years, large rallies were held across Bangladesh to commemorate the day.
However, those who welcomed Hasina’s downfall were determined to prevent her Awami League party’s supporters from regrouping.
“Fugitive and dictator Sheikh Hasina has ordered her goons and militia forces to come to the site so they can produce a counter-revolution,” stated Imraul Hasan Kayes, 26, to AFP. “We are here to guard our revolution so that it doesn’t slip out of our hands.”
With no police presence, hundreds of men, most of whom were not students, formed a human barricade across the street leading to Hasina’s former family home, where her father and several relatives were killed 49 years ago.
This site, which had been a museum dedicated to her father, was set ablaze and vandalized by a mob shortly after Hasina’s government fell.
People suspected of being Awami League supporters were beaten with sticks, and others were forcefully escorted away from the area.
In her first public statement since fleeing, Hasina urged her supporters to “pray for the salvation of all souls by offering floral garlands and praying” at the landmark where her father was killed.
During her time in power, Hasina faced accusations of creating a personality cult around her father, whose image was prominently displayed on every banknote.
She also amended the constitution to mandate that his portrait be displayed in every school, government office, and diplomatic mission.
“Her government even made it an offence to criticise him online, punishable with up to 10 years in prison,” Tom Kean of the International Crisis Group told AFP. “While many people still have great respect for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his achievements… this had curtailed any real debate over his legacy.”
During her tenure, thousands of civil servants were required to participate in public demonstrations commemorating her father’s death.
Awami League organizers also set up public address systems across Dhaka to broadcast Mujib’s speeches and songs praising his leadership.
The interim government, however, canceled the observance of this politically charged holiday on Tuesday, ordering bureaucrats to stay in their offices.
As a result, the usual sounds of traffic dominated Dhaka, a city of 20 million people, on Thursday.
In her statement on Tuesday, Hasina addressed her supporters just hours after a Dhaka court opened a murder case against her, two senior Awami League members, and four police officers linked to the recent unrest.
Several other top politicians from her party have been detained in separate investigations, including former law minister Anisul Huq and business adviser Salman Rahman.
Both men appeared in court on Wednesday, heavily guarded by police, handcuffed, and wearing helmets for protection.
Yunus, 84, returned from Europe last Thursday to lead a temporary administration tasked with the challenging job of guiding democratic reforms.
Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his groundbreaking work in microfinance, credited with lifting millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty, now serves as “chief adviser” to the caretaker government.
Comprising civilians and a retired brigadier general, this administration aims to hold elections “within a few months.”
Under Hasina’s rule, the government was accused of severe human rights violations, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of thousands of political opponents.
The interim government announced that UN investigators would arrive next week to investigate the “atrocities” committed during the protests that led to her overthrow.
