Grève : affrontement à Rajshahi – 7 février 2011

Dozens injured in clashes during Bangladesh strike

AFP

By Cat Barton

8 02 2011

DHAKA — Bangladesh police fired tear gas at protesters on Monday as a nationwide strike called by the main opposition party sparked clashes that left dozens injured and brought the country to a standstill.

In Rajshahi town, 150 miles (200 kilometres) northwest of Dhaka, hundreds of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists threw rocks at officers and vandalised vehicles, prompting police to react with tear gas and baton charges.

« At least 15 strike supporters were arrested, » deputy commissioner of Rajshahi police Anwarul Morshed Khan told AFP.

Battles between riot police and stone-throwing BNP activists broke out in other towns across the country, police said, leaving dozens injured, including several policemen.

At protests in the capital Dhaka, police used batons to break up BNP street demonstrations. Several people were injured, police said, while about 25 passengers had to flee a bus after activists attacked it and set it on fire.

Thousands of riot police patrolled through Dhaka and other key cities as the strike closed down much of the country, with all shops, businesses and schools shut, and major roads deserted.

The BNP, led by two times ex-premier Khaleda Zia, called the strike to protest against controversial plans for a new airport, rocketing food prices and a stock market crash that has hit thousands of small investors.

Dhaka’s benchmark DGEN share index has shed nearly 30 percent from its peak early in December.

Police said more than a thousand investors joined the strike after the index sank 5.7 percent on Sunday, triggering protests by small traders.

On Monday, investors burned an effigy of the finance minister and attacked the Securities and Exchange office with rocks and stones, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. Read more…