Bangladesh imposes indefinite curfew, cuts off internet as fresh protests roil Dhaka

Protesters wave national flags as they stand over the Anti Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture during a protest in Dhaka on Aug. 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 04 August 2024
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Bangladesh imposes indefinite curfew, cuts off internet as fresh protests roil Dhaka

  • More than 50 people killed, scores injured in new round of clashes
  • Student leaders are calling on peers to gather in Dhaka on Monday

DHAKA: The Bangladesh military was deployed to the streets to impose an indefinite nationwide curfew on Sunday as protesters clashed with authorities amid a new wave of demonstrations demanding the prime minister’s resignation, which comes weeks after a deadly crackdown.

Thousands of Bangladeshi protesters took to the streets of Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday, as student leaders launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The fresh protests came after earlier demonstrations in July, which began with students calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs, escalated into violence.

Those nationwide campus rallies were attacked by pro-government groups, leading to clashes with security forces, a week-long communications blackout, a curfew, and more than 200 deaths.

After demonstrators returned to the streets in what appeared to be the biggest numbers yet, Bangladesh’s Interior Ministry said an indefinite nationwide curfew would start at 6 p.m. on Sunday, while internet services were again shut down.  

More than 50 people were killed and scores were injured in the new round of clashes, according to the country’s leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper, as police fired tear gas and lobbed stun grenades to disperse the tens of thousands of protesters.

Students Against Discrimination, one of the main groups behind the initial protests, has called on “students from all over the country to travel to Dhaka” on Monday.

“The time has come to make the final signature of this student citizen uprising. Come to Dhaka to be a part of history,” Asif Mahmud, a coordinator of the group, said in a statement issued after the curfew was announced.

“Students will create a new Bangladesh.”

While the Supreme Court eventually scrapped most of the quota to open civil service positions to candidates based on merit, the government’s response to the demonstrations last month and the arrest of thousands of people have turned the student-led protests into a public movement, with more groups joining in the last few days, including teachers and TV stars.

“The current situation is best described as a massive popular uprising. It enjoys support from the whole nation, except a few beneficiaries of the regime,” Salimullah Khan, political analyst and professor at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, told Arab News.

“Repressive measures are solely responsible for these mass murders and crimes against humanity. The true conclusion is in the immediate exit of the regime. Dithering will only cost more lives.”

The protests have become a major challenge for Hasina, who returned to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by her main opponents, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

“The BNP resolutely supports the students’ demands and pledges and stands by them unwaveringly,” Mohammed Nawshad Zamir, BNP international secretary, told Arab News.

“Therefore, we must persist in our street demonstrations until the illegitimate regime of Sheikh Hasina is ousted and a national government of consensus is established.”

Hasina’s party, the ruling Awami League, said the student-led movement has been “politicized.”

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, an Awami League parliamentarian, told Arab News: “It’s a conspiracy to destroy the country. With the current situation, it has been proved now.

“Our law enforcers are still showing maximum tolerance to the protesters. But they have to understand, it doesn’t mean we are weak.”

Yet efforts to suppress the civil movement in Bangladesh, which included “random and disproportionate use of force by the law-enforcing agencies,” were at a scale “never seen before,” said Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director at Transparency International Bangladesh.

“It’s quite ominous. Unfortunately, we see there is no way out of this situation or light at the end of the tunnel because the use of force to manage the crisis continues,” he told Arab News.

“Authorities ignored the power of the students’ movement, and on the other hand, authorities considered themselves invincible … They failed to realize that the students’ movement is invincible here in the history of Bangladesh.”


Breton steps down as France’s EU commissioner, criticizing von der Leyen

Updated 9 sec ago
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Breton steps down as France’s EU commissioner, criticizing von der Leyen

  • Breton, one of the highest-profile members of the European Commission for the past five years
  • Each EU member state will have one seat at the Commission’s table
PARIS/BRUSSELS: Thierry Breton of France stepped down as a member of the European Commission on Monday and said he would no longer be his country’s candidate for the next EU executive body, in an unexpected twist in the highly political EU power transition.
Breton, one of the highest-profile members of the European Commission for the past five years, is best known for sparring publicly with tech billionaire Elon Musk and playing a key role in shaping the 27-nation EU’s Big Tech regulation, its COVID-vaccine response and efforts to boost defense industries.
A former French minister and industrialist, Breton announced his resignation on X as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to announce this week who will be part of her new five-year team.
In his resignation letter, Breton alleged that von der Leyen “a few days ago” had asked France to withdraw his name as its pick for the Commission “for personal reasons” in return for an “allegedly more influential portfolio.”
He said France would indeed suggest another name in a rare last-minute change.
“In light of these latest developments — further testimony to questionable governance — I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College,” Breton said in the letter.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the allegation. Von der Leyen’s office declined to make any immediate comment.
Breton, a former business executive, was the EU’s industry and internal market commissioner during her first term.
His and von der Leyen’s relationship had taken a turn for the worse over recent months. The French commissioner, a liberal, had angered von der Leyen by publicly criticizing her nomination as the European conservative EPP’s party candidate to head the Commission for a second term, EU officials have said.
Breton’s public feuds with Musk had also been met with dismay among other Commission colleagues, officials added.
Key jobs
As the EU’s second-biggest member state, France is vying for a major post in the new Commission team, which follows on European Parliament elections in June — the starting point every five years for a shake-up of key jobs in EU institutions that have a major impact on policymaking across the bloc.
Each EU member state will have one seat at the Commission’s table, although their political weight and importance varies greatly depending on the portfolio.
Having to replace Breton is likely to add to French President Emmanuel Macron’s woes at a time when he is still trying to pull together a government at home with new Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
The French presidency did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Italy backs EU’s Chinese tariffs, foreign minister says

Updated 23 min 59 sec ago
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Italy backs EU’s Chinese tariffs, foreign minister says

  • Minister Wang Wentao is visiting Europe for discussions on the European Union’s anti-subsidy case against China-made EVs as the vote on more tariffs looms

MILAN: Italy backs tariffs proposed by the European Commission on Chinese exports of electric vehicles (EVs), Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday before a meeting in Rome with China’s commerce minister.
“We support the duties that the EU Commission proposes, to protect the competitiveness of our companies,” Tajani told daily Corriere della Sera in an interview.
Minister Wang Wentao is visiting Europe for discussions on the European Union’s anti-subsidy case against China-made EVs as the vote on more tariffs looms.
He was meeting Tajani on Monday morning and will hold talks with the European Commission’s Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Sept. 19.
“We want to work on a trade plan based on equality, we demand equal access for our products in their markets. Our companies must compete on equal terms,” Tajani added.
Italy is aiming for a “climate of positive cooperation, and real reciprocity to avoid dumping and obstacles from Beijing, that at times are incomprehensible,” he said.
Italy initially supported tariffs in a non-binding vote of EU members in July but Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told Reuters last week that he expected a negotiated solution.
Italy remains a major carmaker, home to brands including Fiat, part of the Stellantis group. It has also been seeking to woo Chinese carmakers including Dongfeng and Chery Auto to open factories in order to raise vehicle output.
Tajani added that his position did not compromise Italy’s “good relations” with China.
At the end of July Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China, to boost co-operation with the world’s second-largest economy and reset trade ties after leaving the Belt and Road infrastructure investment scheme.
President Sergio Mattarella is scheduled to visit China later this year, with Tajani part of the delegation, the minister said.
The European Commission is on the brink of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3 percent on EVs built in China, on top of the EU’s standard 10 percent car import duty.
The proposed duties will be subject to a vote by the EU’s 27 members. They will be implemented by the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members representing 65 percent of the EU population vote against them.


Germany expands border controls to curb migrant arrivals

Updated 16 September 2024
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Germany expands border controls to curb migrant arrivals

  • The border controls will be in place for an initial six months and are expected to include temporary structures at land crossings and spot checks by federal police

FRANKFURT: Germany will from Monday expand border controls to the frontiers with all nine of its neighbors to stop irregular migrants in a move that has sparked protests from other EU members.
Berlin announced the sweeping measure following a string of deadly extremist attacks that have stoked public fears and boosted support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Sunday said that the step aimed to limit irregular migration and “put a stop to criminals and identify and stop Islamists at an early stage.”
The border controls will be in place for an initial six months and are expected to include temporary structures at land crossings and spot checks by federal police.
Poland and Austria have voiced concern and the European Commission has warned that members of the 27-nation bloc must only impose such steps in exceptional circumstances.
Germany lies at the heart of Europe and borders nine countries that are part of the visa-free Schengen zone, designed to allow the free movement of people and goods.
Border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland were already in place before the crackdown was announced.
These will now be expanded to Germany’s borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.
Faeser said the government hoped to minimize the impact on people living and working in border regions, promising “coordination with our neighboring countries.”
The interior ministry however noted that travelers should carry identification when crossing the border.


In recent weeks, a string of extremist attacks have shocked Germany, fueling rising public anger.
Last month, a man on a knife rampage killed three people and wounded eight more at a festival in the western city of Solingen.
The Syrian suspect, who has alleged links to the Daesh group, had been intended for deportation but managed to evade authorities.
The enforcement failure set off a bitter debate which marked the run-up to two regional polls in the formerly communist east, where the anti-immigration AfD scored unprecedented results.
With national elections looming next year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has been under intense political pressure to toughen its stance on migrants and asylum seekers.
Scholz was in Uzbekistan on Sunday to sign a migration deal for workers to come to Germany, while simplifying deportation procedures in the opposite direction so that “those that must go back do go back,” the chancellor said.
Closer to home, the German government has presented plans to speed up deportations to European partners.
Under EU rules, asylum requests are meant to be handled by the country of arrival. The system has placed a huge strain on countries on the European periphery, where leaders have demanded more burden-sharing.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Germany tightening its borders means that it would “essentially pass the buck to countries located on the outer borders of Europe.”
Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said his country “will not accept people who are rejected from Germany,” while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned Germany’s move as “unacceptable.”


Warsaw has also struggled with migration and accused Moscow of smuggling people from Africa and the Middle East into Europe by sending them through Belarus to the Polish border.
Berlin on Friday said that Tusk and Scholz had discussed the issue and agreed to strengthen EU external borders, “especially in view of the cynical instrumentalization of migrants by Belarus.”
Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, meanwhile, mocked the German chancellor on social media site X, writing: “Bundeskanzler Scholz, welcome to the club! #StopMigration.”
Germany took in more than a million asylum seekers in 2015-16, many of them Syrians, and has hosted over a million Ukrainians since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.
The extra burden on municipal authorities and integration services in Germany needed to be “taken into account” when talking about new border controls, Berlin’s interior ministry said.
In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Friday unveiled the country’s strictest migration policy yet, saying it will request an opt-out from EU common policy on asylum next week.
A four-party coalition dominated by far-right firebrand Geert Wilders’s Freedom Party wants to declare an “asylum crisis” to curb the influx of migrants through a tough set of rules including border controls.


Pakistan court grants bail to 10 MPs linked to jailed ex-PM Imran Khan

Updated 16 September 2024
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Pakistan court grants bail to 10 MPs linked to jailed ex-PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan granted bail Monday to 10 lawmakers from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, an AFP journalist witnessed.
At least 30 people from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party — including the 10 MPs — were remanded in custody last Tuesday, two days after they led a major rally in the capital, Islamabad.
The anti-terrorism court granted them bail of 30,000 rupees ($100).
PTI has faced a sweeping crackdown since Khan was jailed in August last year on a series of charges he says are politically motivated and designed to keep him from power.
The 10 MPs, some detained at their offices in the National Assembly, were charged under a new protest law and the anti-terrorism act.
They were accused of violating the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, passed just days before the rally was held, in a move rights groups say was an attempt to curb freedom of expression and peaceful protest.
PTI has sparred with the military since Khan was deposed two years ago.
The confrontation came to a head after the former cricket star’s first arrest on corruption charges in May 2023.
His supporters waged days of sometimes violent protests and attacked military installations, sparking a sweeping crackdown on PTI led by the army — Pakistan’s most powerful institution.
But the clampdown failed to diminish Khan’s popularity and candidates backed by the former premier won the most seats in 2024 polls — marred by allegations of widespread rigging.
Khan rose to power in 2018 with the help of the military, analysts say, but was ousted in 2022 after reportedly falling out with the generals.
A United Nations panel of experts found this month that his detention “had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office.”
A number of convictions against him have been overturned by the courts.
Several members of the PTI’s social media and press team were rounded up last month and accused of “anti-state propaganda.”


Police operation under way after explosion in Cologne, Bild reports

Updated 16 September 2024
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Police operation under way after explosion in Cologne, Bild reports

BERLIN: A police operation is under way after an explosion in central Cologne, the Bild newspaper reported on Monday.
Local police posted on the social media platform X that a police operation was under way on the Hohenzollernring ring road and that residents should avoid the area.