反对党孟加拉国民族主义党的支持者要求总理哈西娜辞职并重新举行选举。
孟加拉国主要反对党的数万名支持者聚集在达卡，抗议总理谢赫哈西娜领导的政府，并要求举行新的选举。
周六，抗议者在戈拉普巴格运动场集会，在孟加拉国首都紧张局势加剧的情况下，人群高呼“谢赫·哈西娜是个选票贼”。
集会是在安全部队周二冲进反对派孟加拉国民族主义党 (BNP) 总部几天后举行的。 袭击造成至少一人死亡，数十人受伤。
近几个月来，由于停电和燃油价格上涨，全国各地爆发了反政府抗议活动。 总理拒绝了下台的呼吁。
A BNP official said that some 200,000 people had joined Saturday’s rally by mid-morning. Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruq Ahmed rejected the claim and said the venue could not hold more than 30,000 people.
“Our main demand is Sheikh Hasina resign and parliament is dissolved and let a neutral caretaker government step in to hold a free and fair election,” BNP spokesman Zahiruddin Swapan said.
The protests have been peaceful, but SWAT teams, counterterrorism units and canine squads were on standby, Ahmed said. Police have also set up checkpoints on roads to the city and increased security there.
BNP officials accused the government of triggering an unofficial transport strike to try to prevent people from joining the rally.
The rally comes a day after two BNP leaders were arrested on allegations of inciting violence. More than 2,000 activists and supporters of the opposition party have been detained since November 30 to prevent them from attending the protest.
Western governments, the United Nations and human rights organisations have raised concerns over the political climate and human rights violations in Bangladesh.
Independent observers have reported that the past two general elections were rigged by Hasina’s government, forcing losses by the BNP.
On Tuesday, 15 Western embassies issued a joint statement, calling for Bangladesh to allow free expression, peaceful assembly and fair elections. The UN made a similar declaration a day later.
Amnesty International’s Yamini Mishra said this week’s violence showed that authorities “have very little regard for the sanctity of human life and sends a chilling message that those who dare to exercise their human rights will face dire consequences”.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/10/tens-of-thousands-protest-in-bangladesh-against-pm-hasina
