Friday 10 May 2013

Midnight Massacre in Dhaka by Security Forces of Bangladesh




Executive Summery
On 6 May 2013 at 2.40 in the morning, the government in Bangladesh has cracked down on protests leaving a huge number of unarmed religious people dead and thousands others injured. More than 10,000 forces drawn from police, the elite Rapid Action Battalion and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh jointly launched a drive in the darkness of midnight on 6 May to clear demonstrators from a major thoroughfare in Dhaka. Electricity was cut and media access was restricted from the scene during the joint operation. In Narayanganj and Chittagong, 20 demonstrators were shot dead by police on 6
May. 16 demonstrators were killed on the previous day by police in several attacks carried out to disperse the Dhaka Siege program.


Bangladesh is now passing a great crisis in her political arena. Democracy and good governance have been severely questioned over the current regime. Human rights have been infringed to an unprecedented extent. The Bangladesh government headed by Awami League has been exposing its deadly autocratic attitude and unethical stand both in national as well as international arenas since it has acceded to power in 2009. It has always shown ultra-rated hostility towards peoples demands and their democratic demos and protests.

Most recently, Hefajat-e-Islam, a non-political religious outfit set out to ensure punishment of the anti-religious bloggers for their blasphemous campaigns, staged its scheduled Dhaka Siege
& Sit-in” program on last 5th May 2013 urging the government to meet its 13-point demand announced earlier. Since the break of dawn on that day, a sum total of about 3 to 4 million Hefajat men, as a whole, blocked the entrances to Dhaka city and they took, as per the governmental consent, to the streets round the Shapla Square” at Motijheel in Dhaka at around
3:00 pm. But as soon as Hefajat-e-Islam began its gathering and sit-in therein, armed cops and RAB personnel started to shoot at the participants indiscriminately. Soon, the hub of Dhaka city turned into a battlefield and Hefajat men were turning into „corpses‟ one after another.

Hundreds of thousands of Hefazat activists gathered  at Shapla Chattar of Motijhil, Dhaka.

They declared to continue their sit-in indefinitely. However, on 6th May at 3:00 am at midnight, the locale was blacked out by switching streetlights off, two TV channels on stream (namely, Diganta TV and Islamic TV) were cut off and made go off the air as they dare to air true news about governmental injustice, and all the journos were forcibly made leave the locale by the government official dudes and pro-party thugs. Then, all on a sudden, an integrated band of cops, BGB and RAB personnel began to open fire wantonly at the sit-in participants to take over the reins of the locale whereby over 5 hundred people died, thousands of people got injured and shot and about 2 thousand more went traceless.

Timeline of Incidents - 5th & 6th May, 2013      
Genocide in Dhaka by Security Forces of Bangladesh


Time
Place                of
Occurrence
Incident
6:00 am,
5th May 2013
Jatrabari
Gabtali
Babubazar
Abdullahpur
Huge Gathering and Road Blockade started
9:00 am
Jatrabari
Gabtali
Babubazar
Abdullahpur
Peaceful Meetings and Protest goes on
11:00 am
Motijheel
DMP gave permission for Meeting at Motijheel
Jatrabari
People started March towards Motijheel
11:30 am
Paltan
Sporadic clash began between Police and Hefazat activists
12:00 pm
Gulistan
A Hefazat activist slaughtered by Awami League thugs at
Bangabandhu Avenue
12:30 pm
Paltan
Attack of police on Hefazat activists began
1:00 pm
Kakrail
Attack of police on Hefazat activists began
1:30 pm
Jatrabari
Gabtali
Babubazar
Abdullahpur
People started their March towards Motijheel
2:00 pm
Paltan
Kakrail
Clashes between Police and Hefazat activists became extremely
violent. Police opened fire; One civilian died and many others injured.
2:30 pm
Motijheel
Hefazat started their meeting before scheduled time
4:00  - 8:00 pm
Paltan
Kakrail
Severe clashes broke out between Police and Hefazat activists.
Police opened fire; about 16 Hefazat activists died and many others were severely injured. Hospitals were overloaded.
8:00 pm
Motijheel
Declaration of Overnight Stay came from the Stage. Electricity
cut throughout the area by authorities.
8:30 pm
Paltan
Baitul Mukaram
Police fired Tear cells inside the Mosque while the Isha prayer
was on. Some miscreants set fire to the Islamic Bookstores and
Jewelry Market of Baitul Mukaram Complex.
9:00  - 12:00 am
Paltan
Sporadi clashes   continued   between   Polic and   Hefazat
activists. Police continued indiscriminate fire and charging
Sound Grenades.
Kakrail
12:00 - 2:00 am,
Motijheel
Police ordered evacuation of all Media personnel from the
6th May 2013

spot.  Heavy  armored  RAB  and  Police  force  and  about  30
Platoons of BGB were deployed near the Program spot;
2:30 am
Motijheel
Police started a huge crackdown with continuous Brush fire
upon  the  sleeping  protesters.  About  thousands  of  Sound
Grenades were charged upon them as well.
3:00 am
Motijheel
Police  started  to  take  control  of  the  spot  as  hundreds  and
thousands of protesters were gunned down and chased away. Witness confirmed death of more than 400 protesters, while
about ten thousands were severely injured.
3:30 am
Arambagh
Police intercepted into the head office of Digata Television and
seized broadcasting instruments and sealed the Office. BTRC then forcefully shut down the DTV channel along with Islamic Television.
4:00 am
Motijheel
Teams of Police and BGB started to move  away the dead
bodies and Dhaka City Corporation cleaners started cleaning the whole area to remove all blood marks.
5:00 am
Motijheel
Many wounded Hefazat activists were surrounded by Police
and Ruling Party thugs in several mosques including Baitul
Mukaram. The Fazr prayer was even disrupted.
6:00 am
Motijheel
Police started to search and arrest anyone suspected as Hefazat
activist from the spot.
7:00 am
Malibagh
Fresh  clash  started  between  Police  and  scattered  Hefazat
activists
8:00 am
Narayanganj
Police started searching and arresting into local Madrasas
9:00 am
Narayanganj
Police started indiscriminate firing upon Madrasa students at
Madani  Nagar  and  a  new  clash  began.  Another  phase  of violence began in Kachpur.
10:00 am
Narayanganj
Reports coming in of few more causality of Hefazat activists.
A least   15   confirmed   dead   with  many  other  severely wounded.
11:00 am
Jatrabari
Chittagong
Clash  broke  out  all  over  Bangladesh; At least 6 reported
killed in Chittagong Road, Jatrabari and 5 others at Kachpur. 3
Members of Security Forces are also killed.

DhakaSiege Program
Hefajat-e-Islam, an organization of Islamic clerics and students, called the Dhaka siege programme from its April 6 grand rally at the citys Shapla Chattar demanding that its 13-point demand be met by April 30.  Hefajat‟s 13-point demand includes passing a law in parliament with a provision for the punishment for blashemy and smear campaigns against Muslims, putting an end to the infiltration of all alien culture including adultery, amending anti-religious portions of the National Women Development Policy and restoring the religious provisions in the Constitution.

The Dhaka siege programme  of Hefajat-e-Islam  Bangladesh  began after Fajar prayers early  on 5th May 2013. Activists of that Organisation blocked road at six Points of Dhaka- From AbdullahPur to Tongi Bridge, Gabtali Mazar Road to Aminbazar bridge, Babu Bazar bridge, Demra Bridge, Kanchpur Bridge and postagala Bridge shortly Before Dawn. They Also took position in the chittagong road at Jatrabari and in Singboard Area - entry Points of the Capital. Police also kept some points blocked since morning to prevent entry of the Hefajat activists into Dhaka city.


An  unarmed
Hefazat   demonstrator   being  shot  by  police  on  6  May
midnight.

The  demonstrators  were  seen  standing  with  banners,  different  types  of  flags  including  the national flag, while some were reciting verses from the Holy Quran.

Huge police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) personnel remained deployed in every entry point of  the  city.  No  motorised  vehicles  from  outside  could  enter  the  city.  Dhaka  was  virtually detached from other parts ofthe country due to the siege programme.


Minister Ashrafs Declaration of Suppression
Awami   League   General   Secretary   and   Minister   of   the   Local   Government   and   Rural Development  Syed Ashraful Islam declared total suppression  of the program called by Hefazat on 5th May in a briefing at Dhaka. "This time we allowed you to come to Dhaka, next time you
will not be able to come (Dhaka)  or even come  out of your homes.  Your anarchy will  not be


tolerated," spokesperson  Syed Ashraful Islam warned at a press briefing amid Hifazat's  rally in the Motijheel business district.

Image:  Dead  body  of  a  Protester  taken  way  by Hefazat activists. (Daily Amardesh)
Dead body of a Hefazat activist killed by police,  was brought near the stage. 



'everything necessary'  to maintain law and order. Ashraf asked the Hifazat activists to wrap up their rally by evening  and leave Dhaka and threatened  actions if they did not. At the briefing, Ashraf advised against considering the ruling party 'weak'. "The Awami League alone is enough to teach you a lesson," he said.

Ashraf termed the  Hifazat the successor  of infamous  'al-Badr' and 'Razakars', the forces that had sided with the Pakistani troops. He said the people of Bangladesh  will not tolerate mayhem in the name of religion and reiterated the government was ready to take any measures necessary.



Indiscriminate Police  Fire


In  Paltan  area  of  the  capital,  police started indiscriminate shooting at the peaceful gathering of thousands of Hefazat  activists.  At  least  thirteen Hefazat activists were killed and 200 others  injured  in  assaults  on  Hefajat men by Awami League activists and police  in  the  city's   Bangabandhu Avenue and other areas on Sunday. At least eight hefazat activists have died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. At least five other dead bodies were seen near at the Shapla Square.

Thousands of rounds of bullets were fired from police vehicle at unarmed people.

Panic gripped the city dwellers  as violence escalated amid the Hefajat grand rally being staged at the city's Shapla Chattar following  its April 6 massive showdown at the same venue. After the police rampage, vehicles almost disappeared   from the city's bustling streets. Many were seen walking back home on foot.

       

                                                      Image: A death activist left in the street


One  of the  deceased  was  identified  as Siddiqur  Rahman  Siddique,  28,  helper  of  a bus  of  'Hanif  Paribahan'.  The  others, including  a Hefajat  man,  could  not  be identified yet. Helper Siddique, injured in the firing, was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital   (DMCH)   where   doctors   declared him dead. The two others also succumbed to their injuries at the DMCH. The injured were admitted to different hospitals and private clinics.


           An injured demonstrator being taken for treatment.




 
Awami League members also took part in the assault on Hefazat demonstrators. Witnesses said the clash between the Awami League and Hefajat men broke out in Baitul Mukarram area around 1:30pm when they brought separate processions in the area. A chase and counter-chase broke   out   betwee th workers   of   the   tworganisations as they brought out their processions. Police fired several hundred gunshots and teargas shells to suppress the demonstrators.

















Another triangular clash involving police, the  hefajat workers and the ruling party men broke out at the same place at 3pm and later it spilled over into Purana Paltan, Gulistan, Bijoynagar, Kakrail and Press Club areas.

Blood was pouring over the asphalt paved street. It could not be learnt immediately how many were injured or dead. But at live
telecast many bodies were seen lying on the road motionless. Fountains of blood was gushed at many places. Initially Hefazot claimed 30 to 40 were killed.

Witnesses said miscreants set fire to a police box at Shantinagar around 6:20 pm while another  at  Mouchak  at  about  6:25  pm.  At
least  30  vehicles  parked  in  front  of  the Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation were set alight  by  the  miscreants  around
5pm. A police Pajero jeep was set afire at Mouchak around 6:25 pm while a bus and a bulldozer at Malibagh crossing around 6:20 pm. A gas pipeline near the Bangabandhu National stadium was set afire around 4:45pm.

At about 5:30pm, 15 people, including 10 cops, were injured in a  clash  between  police  and  the
Hefajat  workers  near  Nayabazar
in the city. Meanwhile, seven people, including a Rab member, were hurt in separate clashes between law enforcers and workers of Hefajat-e-Islam in the city earlier on Sunday.

                         Bodies of Hefazat activists at the morgue of Dhaka Medical College.




                                         A Hefazal worker left dead in the street.
In another incident, two police bikes were torched near the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque as the Hefajat men in a procession were marching towards the Shapla Chattar in the capital at about
12:30pm. Witnesses said hundreds of activists of the organization were marching towards the
Shapla Chattar to attend a rally there. When they were passing by the National Mosque, police obstructed them. Being obstructed, the Hefajat activists threw brick chips targeting police, resulting in a clash between them. The law enforces fired several teargas shells and fired several rubber bullets to disperse them. A chase and counter-chase took place that left some people
injured.

Deadly Awami Attack



 
                                           Awami     League     members     beating     a protester.

Awami League members also took part in the assault on Hefazat demonstrators. Witnesses said the clash between the Awami League and Hefajat men broke out in Baitul Mukarram area around
1:30pm when they brought separate processions in the area. Awami League members mercilessly beat several demonstrator with sticks and shot bullets at them.


Midnight Massacre





Peaceful sit-in of Hefazat going on while electricity is cut by the govt.

On Sunday evening, Hefajat-e-Islam Bangladesh ameer Allama Shah Ahmed Shafi  said  their  'peacefulShapla Chattar sit-in will continue until their
13-point  demand  is  met.  After  the
declaration   of   overnight   stay   came from the Hefazat stage at 8 pm, electricity cut throughout the area by authorities.  Police  ordered  evacuation of all Media personnel from the spot. Heavy armored RAB and Police force and about 30 Platoons of BGB were deployed near the Program spot. Police
fired Tear cells inside the Mosque while
the I‟sha prayer was on. Some miscreants set fire to the Islamic Bookstores and Jewelry Market of Baitul Mukaram Complex. Sporadic clashes continued between Police and Hefazat activists. Police continued indiscriminate fire and charging Sound Grenades.

 A Hefazat activist critically injured by police bullet.

 
Police taking away the dead body of an activist killed in the massacre.

 Joint operation of Police, RAB and BGB.
Bullet wound body of a demonstrator left in the scene after the crack down.

From 9 pm, the security forces started surrounding the gathering of unarmed assembly of hundreds  of  thousands  people  in  Motijhil.  No  one  could  enter  of  exit  from  the  assembly anymore. Ten platoons of Border Guard members were deployed in the area.5 Hefazat activists‟ attempt to resistance by placing blocks road divider and tree branches proved futile in the face of heavily armed security forces.

After 2 pm in the morning, Police started a huge crackdown with continuous brush fire upon the sleeping protesters. Thousands of sound grenades were charged upon them as well. Some 600 members of RAB and BGB were deployed at Paltan at around 11:30pm. On and on the number of armed force members increased to initiate the joint operation on the sleeping activists of Hefazat. It was 2:30 in the morning. Dhaka was rattled by the sound of indiscriminate gunshot and grenade explosions. One-way war started with whistles as Joint Law enforcers BGB, RAB and Police attackeand  cornered  the unarmed  Hefazot activists. Mothijeel, DainiBangla,
Fakirapool and Ittefaq intersection turned into a killing ground within minutes.

Dead bodies of demonstrators left in the scene after the midnight crack down.


BGB and Rab personnel removed Hefajat-e-Islam  activists from the city's  Shapla Chattar area. Police and Rab sources said they started the drive at about 2.20 am and drove out the Hefajat men from Shapla Chattar area by 3 am, firing rubber bullets and sound grenades. They said some
10,000 law-enforcers took part in the drive that first started from Notredame Collage point then
Ittefaq Intersection. The entire area was rocked by gunshots and sound grenades.

The defenseless innocent Islamist's were forced to move away at the face of continuous gunshot and  canisters.  Many  wounded  laid  at  the  road. 7  Some  took  shelters  at  nearby  alleys.  Law enforcers then attacked the alleys. They were beaten till dispersed.


Police action on the unarmed people. A dead body lying on the street.

Amid the massive drive, unarmed Hefajat men retreated fast and ran into various lanes and alleys in the area although they had first tried to resist the law-enforcers showering them with brick chips. It was not still certain how many Hefajat men were injured in the predawn drive.

Television footages showed armoured vans driving about and non-stop teargas shells being lobbed and rubber bullets fired in Motijheel which during weekdays is one of the busiest places in Dhaka.

Many dead bodies and injured were seen all over the street and adjacent buildings after the joint operation of armed forces. Motijheel was littered with stained blood, papers, sandals and some bags after the operation drove the sleeping band of Hifazat supporters away. Fire was burning in a few places. Five vehicles were also burning at the scene.

 Bullet wound bodies of demonstrators left all over thscene after the bloody crackdown.







Bodies of two Hefazat activists killed by armed forces in the crackdown.

The scene at Motijhil after the shooting spree of govt. forces is over.



 
Dead bodies of Hefazat activists left after the joint operation.

Law enforcers took less than 15 minutes to take control of Shapla Chattar after conducting a simultaneous drive from the Notre Dame College and Dainik Bangla intersection at around 3am. No leader of Hefazat was seen on the rally stage after then. Police began positioning themselves on the street stretching from Paltan to Dainik Bangla intersection since 8:30pm on Sunday.10
                                                          
Most of the corpses were reportedly hidden and transported to some remoter places by trucks by the law enforcement agencies to escape public wrath and international condemnation.  Initially the number of dead was claimed to be as many as 431 by various sources.11 Several internet reports have mentioned that the number of deaths could be as high as 2,500 or more.

Govt. Shuts Down Two Television channels

Media access to the scene of the midnight joint operation was restricted. To prevent telecasting footage  of  mass  murder  by  the  joint  armed forces, two TV channel were shut down by the govt. within one hour of the operation. The joint force consisting of BGB, Police and RAB have shut   down   Diganta   Television   (DTV and Islamic Television. Earlier in the day (May 5), DTV had telecast live demonstration of Hefajot e Islami from Matijhil Dhaka.

The law enforcement agency of the government has taken away valuable machine parts of transmission. It is not possible to restart transmission of DTV. Bangladesh government force  has  also  shut  down  Islamic  TV  at  4:45
local time.13 A senior Jamaat leader Mir Quasem
Ali is the Chairman of the Diganta Media Corporation which owns and operates The Daily Nay Diganta   newspape and   Diganta   TV.


A Hefazat activist killd by the armed  forces.

Bullet wound bodies of demonstrators left in the scene after the crackdown.

The government made the move without citing any reason, an official of the private Diganta station said. Its Chief News Editor Ziaul Kabir Sumon told bdnews24.com that a Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Authority team led by Director Colonel Sazzad Hossain came at around 4:20am on Monday. They said they were temporarily suspending the broadcast saying it was a government order, according to him.

Dead activists left under the police vehicle.

No-one from BTRC could be reached immediately for comment. "We asked them for papers. They told us you will get paper. Now cooperate with us. Then they stopped transmission at
4:24am," Sumon added. We were running news when they stopped transmission.”

Islamic TV also went off air „temporarily‟, its Director Shams Eskander told bdnews24.com. "We have stopped all transmission from 2.30am on Monday," Eskander said. He said the law enforcers had come to their office at around 2am and asked them to close down before locking up the telecast centre. The official accused the law keepers of vandalism in the office and said they had not been served any formal notice to close down transmission. BNP Chairperson Khaleda  Zia‟s younger  brother,  late  Sayeed  Eskander,  was  the  founding  Chairman  of  the
station. 

Narayanganj Clash

At least 15 people were killed and 100 others injured in a clash between the activists of Hefajat- e-Islam Bangladesh and police at Shimrail intersection on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in the city early on 6th  May. 15  All the

 
deceased could not be identified
immediately

Dead people  in Narayanganj clash.


The attack was conducted by a joint  force  of  police,  Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) when Hefazat  activists  tried  to  block the  Dhaka-Chittagong  Highway at  Shimrail  intersection  around
5:30am, after being driven away by law enforcers from Shapla Chattar   in   Motijhee are of Dhaka city. A chase and counter-

chase followed.

Police  lobbed  several  rounds  of teargas shells and fired shots to quell the violence, leaving 15 of the Hefazat activists dead and
100 others injured. Police and Rab members also entered Madaninagar Madrasa in Kanchpur area and fired gunshots on its premises. The bodies of the deceased were taken to Narayanganj General Hospital.

Violation of HoHuman Rights
The scale and indiscriminate manner of the killing of unarmed demonstrators by armed forces is comparable only to genocide, the ultimate denial of right to life. According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide include acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group.17 Hundreds of people were killed by police in just one day which amounts to the crime of genocide.

Article 32 of our Constitution guaranteed the right of life. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights 1948 incorporated a provision that says:  Everyone has the right to life, liberty and 
  security of person.18 It‟s pertinent to point out here that, the constitution of Bangladesh pledges19 to  respect  the  International  Laws  and  moreover  Bangladesh  has  signed  that  Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So, our Govt. cannot ignore its liability to protect the citizens from the police and ruling party thugs.

This incidents mass murder by police indicate the serious scenario of falling rule of law in Bangladesh.  The Republic is  bound  to  ensure  the democratic rights  and  safety of life and property of every citizen. Furthermore, it has responsibility to ensure citizens‟ fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. But, by killing, torturing and injuring the participants of demonstrations, Govt. has grossly violated human right of life.

Article 35 of the Constitution of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh says that, No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.20 But Police have violated this right by reckless shooting at unarmed Hefazat activists.

The unprovoked attack of peaceful sit-in and restraining from lawful demonstration violated some very basic human rights which Bangladesh is committed to protect. The practice of oppression amounts to defiance of freedom of association and assembly recognized by Universal Declaration of Human Rights.21 Bangladesh is a signatory of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1966 which incorporated certain fundamental human rights. Bangladeshi security forces cannot impose unreasonable restrictions on the right of peaceful assembly held in accordance with law as provided article 21 of the Covenant.

Recommendations
·    The govt. must stop mass killing. The trigger happy approach of indiscriminate shooting must be stopped. The demonstrators should not be target of violent attacks due to exercise democratic right to express demands.
·    Police must arrest the members of the ruling party who are involved with violent attacks on the hefazat activists.
·    The administration should stop using the police force as a weapon for killing and oppressing the general people. The government must ensure that the police perform its duty within the
limits set by law.
·    The civil society and media must raise the issue of continued mass killings, illegal attacks and  torture  by  police  to  various  forums.  Human  rights  organisation  must  address  the incidents of denial of right to life and right to justice of Jamaat and Shibir.
·    International community must consider while making any decision about their relation with Bangladesh the issues of human rights violation and mass killing. The issue of unjustified violence by police must be addressed seriously. Donor agencies should ensure that no person is killed tortured due to his particiapation in demonstrations.