Bangladesh: Student road safety protests engulf capital

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Dozens of students were attacked during a road safety protest in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday, according to a local media report.

The Daily Star newspaper reported that the students came under attack in Dhaka’s Jhigatola neighborhood while demonstrating for road safety after two students were killed last Sunday by a bus that was allegedly speeding.

The protest began with a small group of students in Dhaka and then spread across the country.

A group of pro-government students attacked the student protestors with sticks, rods, stones, and pistols, said the report.

The report claimed that at least 150 people -- including students, pedestrians, journalists and ruling party activists -- were wounded in the unrest.

Though official statements on the situation have been lacking, the interior minister said Saturday the situation would be under control within one or two days.

Demanding licenses

Students in school uniforms were seen stopping drivers and asking for their driver’s licenses, and blocking those who could not show one. Some police officers and drivers for government officials were also unable to show licenses.

The government called on the students to return to class, but the students refused, demanding a safe transportation system and tighter licensing.

They also accused Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, who is also executive president of the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, of being responsible for rising traffic accidents.

Khan, a supporter of bus drivers, has reportedly blocked regulations requiring drivers to have legal license.

Students have reportedly vandalized some busses, leading bus owners to halt service, leaving commuters without transportation.

The government has deployed several hundred members of the paramilitary Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) to Jigatola to get the situation under control.