Translation of Manab Jabin article

Unofficial translation of article. Original can be seen here.

20 July 2024

Curfew Imposed, Army Deployed

[AWAMI] League’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader has confirmed this information. The curfew, which began at midnight last night, will continue until noon today. After a two-hour break, curfew will again be in effect from 2pm until 10am on Sunday. Shoot-on-sight orders have been issued for troublemakers. Prior to the decision to impose the curfew and deploy the army, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina held a meeting at Ganabhaban with the Home Minister, the IGP, and the BGB chief. She also held a meeting with the senior leaders of the 14-party alliance. Late that night, the Home Minister told a private television channel that they could not allow what was happening — the destructive activities, the destruction of government property in this manner. Therefore, we requested the Prime Minister to impose curfew (shandho ain). When curfew is imposed, it is naturally necessary to deploy the army. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s scheduled Spain visit has been cancelled.

Since last Monday, the entire country has been in turmoil over the quota reform movement. It began with clashes between Chhatra League activists and protesters. Subsequently, police were called in under the name of action at various campuses. In response, the protesters called a shutdown strike. This strike spread violence across the entire country. The law-enforcement agencies fired indiscriminately to maintain order. So far, reports indicate that at least 90 people have been killed in the clashes and shootings. The majority of them are young people. In addition, several thousand protesters have been injured. Fires have been set at various government and non-government establishments, and vehicles have been vandalised.