Bystanders at Dhaka’s Japrabari police station on Tuesday inspect the aftermath of mass protests in the capital and across Bangladesh that ended 15 years of rule by the country’s unpopular leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Photo by Monirul Alam/EPA-EFE
Aug. 6 (UPI) — At least 24 people were killed in eastern Bangladesh after anti-government protesters set fire to a hotel owned by a senior figure in the Awami League of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, hours after she was forced from office and fled the country, authorities said.
Officials of the Fire Service and Civil Defense department, which battled the blaze at the Zabeer International Hotel in Jashore 110 miles southwest of Dhaka for more than 12 hours overnight Monday, said a mob blocked firefighters from beginning operations for a considerable period.
Khulna Fire Service deputy director Mamun Mahmud said the bodies of those killed were found lying on different floors. Most had suffocated.
The hotel is owned by owned by Shahin Chakladar, general secretary of the local branch of the Awami League.
The deaths were in addition to at least 135 people killed Monday in clashes in Dhaka between security forces and protesters demanding Hasina’s resignation amid widespread rioting, attacks on police stations, arson and property destruction that continued into the night, bringing the total number of people killed since the protests started a month ago to more than 400.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved parliament Tuesday as the Bangladeshi military, which has taken control of the country pending the formation of the interim government ahead of elections, held talks with student leaders of the protests.
All protesters being held in detention would be released, Shahabuddin said, along with the jailed leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Begum Khaleda Zia.
However, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement said Tuesday it would not accept a military-led administration and instead called for Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead an interim government.
Student leader Nahid Islam said the group had already reached out to Yunus, known as “banker to the poor” for his championing of microcredit, and that he had accepted their invitation in light of the situation facing the country.
“We will not accept any other government except the government proposed by the students and people. We will not accept any military government, military-backed government or any B-team government formed with the associates of the fascists,” said the student leaders in a video message in which they warned of further protests unless parliament was dissolved by the end of the day.
However, Islam said his movement did not support the mayhem and violence.
“We strongly condemn the arson [and] communal violence taking place in various parts of the country. We need to be prepared to prevent people from hijacking the movement,” said Islam.
Yunus was expected to return to Bangladesh from abroad “as soon as possible.”
The businessman, also a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, and chancellor of Scotland’s Caledonian University until 2018, was convicted in January of violating labor laws in a case widely dismissed internationally as politically motivated.
Internationally there were calls for calm and for the restoration of democratic rule to be the top priority, as well as condemnation of Bangladesh’s military over the levels of force used in the crackdown on the protests prior to Monday when Hasina quit.
“The United States stands with the people of Bangladesh. We urge all parties to refrain from further violence. Too many lives have been lost over the course of the past several weeks, and we urge calm and restraint in the days ahead,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press briefing.
“We welcome the announcement of an interim government and urge any transition be conducted in accordance with Bangladesh’s laws. We want to see the Bangladeshi people choose their own government, and that’s what we’ll be looking for in the days and weeks ahead.”
U.S. Senate majority leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it was critical to “establish a balanced interim government that respects the rights and all and sets up democratic elections swiftly.”
“PM Hasina’s violent reaction to legitimate protests made her continued rule untenable. I applaud the brave protesters and demand justice for those killed,” he wrote in a post on X.
Schumer’s calls for accountability were echoed by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy who called for a full U.N. investigation into the killings.
