As I am writing this statement, I don't know the whereabouts of most of
my comrades who participated in the ongoing protest of students inBangladesh. All I know is that they were on the streets, trying to
fight back against the police, against the fascist goons of the
autocratic party. As only people from some parts of Bangladesh have
regained internet access after five days of state ordered nationwide
internet blackout, connecting to people back home from abroad has been
tough. As new photos and news unveil the unprecedented violence of the
police, where they are torturing and killing unarmed people, I go
through feelings of anguish and anger. I think about my comrades back
in the country, but it's not only about them, it's about the entire
country. I only know that my comrades are part of the resistance where
thousands of others joined, where people are protesting against the
fascist and autocratic state, which has killed at least 197 people,
detained hundreds, and left thousands injured in the hospitals.
All of this started with a peaceful protest by the students and
government job seekers in demand for quota reformation. The quota
system in Bangladesh reserves 30% of the jobs for the descendants of
the freedom fighters who took part in the liberation war against
Pakistan in 1971. This 30% quota leaves most general people with very
little chance to secure a government job. The problem of unemployment
and recent economic crises have made government jobs very competitive,
and most people consider this 30% quota discriminatory and unfair. Even
though the ruling party describes the quota system as a way to show
respect to the family of freedom fighters, in reality, the ruling party
used it to have an obedient group of people in bureaucracy. First of
all, the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 against Pakistan was a
people's war; people from all walks of life helped the freedom fighters
through various means. Second, many of the poor freedom fighters
belonging to the working class couldn't manage any certificate of being
freedom fighters. Third, there have been claims of corruption and
nepotism in issuing freedom fighter certificates by the ruling party.
So, this 30% quota allows the government to consolidate their power.
Furthermore, reserving 30 % of government jobs for the third generation
of freedom fighters, which is less than 5% of the population, stands
against the central ethos of the liberation war: equality, freedom, and
justice. As anarchists, we supported the just demand of the students.
Still, we also believed that mere quota reformation could not solve the
problem of the capitalist economy maintained by an autocratic ruling
party. However, things escalated when the government responded to the
peaceful protest with unparallel violence from police and their fascist
goons. The state violence against protesters completely transformed the
current movement. Before, moving to this part of the current stage of
the movement, it's necessary to describe the current political scenario
of Bangladesh.
For the past 16 years, Bangladesh has been ruled by Prime Minister
Sheikha Hasina and her party, Awami League. Even though they first came
to power by gaining an electoral majority, they soon became an
autocratic party and retained state power through three rigged or staged
general elections. Furthermore, Sheikh Hasina and her party boast of
being the only party in favor of the spirit of liberation war. In
reality, they have appropriated the spirit and gains of liberation war
from the masses. They have tried to portray the liberation war from only
a nationalistic perspective while it was a peoples' war led by
aspiration for equality, freedom and justice. Post-independence, the
class characteristics of the state did not transform, as one group of
domestic rulers just replaced another group of foreign rulers. The state
apparatus and legal
systems also continued to carry the legacy of the Pakistani and British
colonial ruling system. Awami league in their last 16 years of rule has
utilized all of these organs of the state ruling system to wipe out
opposing views. They have justified it by using their nationalistic
rhetoric and tagging everyone else as anti-liberation force.
Even though Bangladesh has achieved high GDP growth in the past decade,
it mainly came through the expense of cheap labor in readymade garment
sectors and exporting of low skilled labor in middle east. Both of
these groups have suffered from inhumane working conditions. While the
collapse of Rana Plaza, which killed 1134 people in 2013, managed to
gain coverage in international media, other killings from fire and
police crackdown have gone unnoticed. The government has cracked down
on many labor unions (including the abduction of a union leader), took
control of most of the other labor unions, and banned union activity in
some areas. Even in the last year, garment workers were killed and
arrested for demanding an increase in minimum age. Recently,
Bangladesh's economy has been facing a crisis as its short-term
development strategy financed by borrowing money is having
repercussions. Imperialist and expansionist powers such as the United
States, China, and India consider Bangladesh to be a geopolitical
region of interest. India, the country that shares borders with
Bangladesh, has been most influential in the politics of Bangladesh as
they offer the government "legitimacy" to the West in exchange for
contracts that only satisfy the interest of the Indian government.
Although the ruling party has managed to be reelected for another term
without a fair or inclusive election, people are suffering from
unemployment, inflation, inequality, and oppression by the ruling party.
The current economic condition and lack of fundamental human rights have
created mass discontent among the people of Bangladesh, especially the
youth. However, the government, ruled by Hasina, after the recent
re-election, considered it to be virtually unchallenged in continuing
its regime of corruption and exploitation. So, when the students started
peaceful protests for a fair quota system that would prioritize merit,
the ruling party resorted to violence. First, they employed the
students league, the fascist foot soldiers of the ruling fascist party.
They mercilessly beat students and protesters and even attacked them in
hospitals. However, this time, the students soon created resistance and
managed to regain control of the dormitories from this fascist student
wing for the first time in 16 years of Awami rule. Then, the government
called the police force to stop the protest. The police used brutal
measure and started killing protesters on July 16. That failed to stop
the resistance, and it only grew in numbers. The coordinators of the
movement called for a complete shutdown of all public activities in the
following days.
On July 18, the police and ruling party goons used unforeseen levels of
violence as they attacked students protesting inside and in front of
universities and high schools. However, the students showed immense
courage and tried to fight back. They organized themselves, coordinated
with each other and used their limited resources to hit back against
the state violence. In different areas, the foot soldiers of the regime
and the police force were compelled to leave the area as the protesters
fought back. The government also multiplied violence in response and
went on a killing spree. By the afternoon of July 18, confirmed news of
the killing of many University and high school students were circulated
on social media. Mass people started joining the movement, and violent
clashes took place between them and armed forces (and ruling party
goons). Later that day, the government completely blocked internet
access to the entire country to quell the protest. That did not
succeed, and protesters continued the resistance the next day, July 19.
Different political party members also joined the movement at this
point, but the participation of the mass people and students continued.
The armed forces shot and killed at least 70 protesters that day. Most
of the people killed were students, but photographer, rickshaw puller,
transportations workers were also killed. 2 policemen were also killed
by the protesters during the clash. From Friday night, the government
enacted a curfew and employed the military. However, clashes and death
were also reported on Saturday.
As only some of Bangladesh regained internet access after 5 days of
internet blackout from government, it's difficult to obtain reliable
news. The media operating within the country is heavily controlled by
the government. The government is also not providing any information on
the number of deaths, nor is it allowing medical officials to do so.
There have been claims of police seizing death registers from hospitals.
According to one leading newspaper in Bangladesh, at least 197 people
have been killed in the ongoing protest. However, the actual number is
estimated to be way higher. People and news reporters state that they
haven't witnessed such a massive scale of violence in years. Photos and
videos are emerging where we can see piles of dead bodies lying on the
floor of a hospital, the police continuously shooting at unarmed people
from point-blank range. As reported by DW news, UN vehicles for
peacekeeping missions have also been used by the armed forces to attack
protesters in Bangladesh.
Aside from resistance on the ground, the youth are rejecting and tearing
down every narrative of the fascistic party and the authoritarian
state. The mass people of Bangladesh have shown immense solidarity with
the student movement as they view it as a rightful resistance against
the autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina. Local people provided free food
and shelter and helped the injured people to reach hospitals. People
have expressed mass disobedience and non-cooperation with the state
during the movement. The working-class people have shown incredible
solidarity with the students in the protest. They have actively
supported them and, in some areas, participated with the students.
During the movement, the students used various tactics of direct action
and mutual aid that helped them to resist successfully.
On July 21, the supreme court gave a verdict in favor of quota reform.
Even though the suggested distribution reduces the quota for freedom
fighters' descendants which the protesters demanded, it also reduces
the quota for disadvantaged groups of citizens, which is unfair.
Furthermore, after the mass killings in the past week, the situation has
gone well past quota reformation, and a large number of people now
demand the resignation of the Prime minister Sheikh Hasina. However,
through controlling media, communication, and excessive force, the
government has retained some ground. The police have detained hundreds
of students. One of the coordinators was also abducted and tortured by
the armed forces. The government is trying to portray that things are
getting normal, and soon they will probably have to resume internet
connection in the entire country and bring an end to the curfew as
businesses are going through heavy losses due to shut down. When the
internet gets back, the coordinators and protesters will have to face a
tough battle against an unmasked dictatorship that has blood of hundreds
of people in its hand.
I don't think that Bangladesh can go back to being normal again after
this killing spree and violence of the ruling party. The people of
Bangladesh must decide if totalitarianism by a fascist party will be
the fate of the country or will people regain their power. The movement,
which started as a protest for fair opportunity in jobs, has transformed
into a mass uprising against fascist Hasina's rule and state violence
where the people of Bangladesh are expressing their urge to live with
freedom, rights, and dignity. However, to reach that destiny, we need a
democratic transformation of the state, we need to dismantle elite
armed force which commits extrajudicial killing, and we need to
restructure every institution so that nobody ever can gain the power to
commit such atrocities. We need to throw away neo-liberal policies and
move towards an economy for the people and workers, not for the
capitalist class. However, for all of this to happen, we need a strong
working-class movement and civil rights movement. So far, the people and
society have shown incredible resistance against state violence. The
resistance marks a new beginning for the struggle towards a more equal,
just, and free Bangladesh. The future is uncertain but if this movement
shows anything, it has shown that organized people fighting for just
cause can show unthinkable resistance. We reject a future of
totalitarianism, and we expect nothing less than a people's revolution.
24 July 2024
------------------------------------------------------
The writer is a member of the anarchist group Auraj network
About Auraj: Auraj (Auraj means anarchy in Bangla) is an anarchist
network of Bangladeshi students and other people from different
professions. Auraj has published various translations of Anarchist
thinkers such as Bakunin, Kropotkin, Rudolf Rocker, and others in
Bangla. Auraj also frequently publishes articles on Bangladesh's
political and economic scenario. Auraj has shown solidarity with the
recent labor movements (movements of garment workers, jute mill
workers), student movements, and civil rights movements in Bangladesh.
Although members of Auraj have individually taken part directly in many
of these movements, including the ongoing current resistance, the
activity of Auraj as a group is mainly limited to publication.
https://www.auraj.net/
http://cnt-ait.info/2024/07/25/bangladesh-24-07-24/
_________________________________________
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