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Another daylong hartal tomorrow Sporadic clashes in city
By Staff Reporter
Feb 14, 2004, 20:04

The second day of hartal called by the Opposition Awami League ended, by and large peacefully with its youth front ‘Awami Juba League’ calling for another day-long hartal tomorrow (Monday) in protest against the injury of its chairman Jahangir Kabir Nanak at Kalabagan area in the city.
Around 200 AL leaders and activists, were also arrested by police from different areas across the country during hartal hours. At least 100 leaders and activists of AL were also injured during chased and counter-chase between pro-hartal activists, the police and anti-hartal activists across the country.
Of the injured in the capital, 12 were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. They were identified as Mahbubul Alam, peon of Bangabandhu Avenueparty office, Bablu, SM Maulana Nasiruddin, Shahid Shikder, Mohsin, Mohsinuddin Ahmed Nantu, Parvin Akhter, Kohinoor, Amir Hossain, Babul Miah and Parvin Akhter Tonni.
Awami League enforced yesterday’s shutdown from 6 am to protest “repression” on its leaders and workers during Thursday’s hartal as well as to press home its 15-point demands.

A female activists of Awami League who lay down on the street at the Bangabandhu Avenue is being arrested by women police during hartal hours yesterday. NN photo

Movement of vehicular transports on the streets in the city was thin. Mostly the shops and business establishments, education institutions remained closed due to hartal.
But at some places in the city, a good number of shops, especially grocery shops, were seen open while few buses along the main VIP roads plied with passengers without any obstruction. Large numbers of rickshaws were also seen on the streets, witnesses said.
Attendance in government’s offices was thin. Inter-distract bus services, however, remained suspended.
There was tension in the city from early in the morning as pro-hartal picketers were active and had engagements with police. At least seven vehicles were ransacked by the picketers at different parts of the city.
Witnesses said, police and pickets clashed in Lalbagh, Gulistan, Motijheel and Kalabagan areas in the city till afternoon, leaving several people wounded, including former minister and AL presidium member Motia Chowdhury and Juba League Chairman Jahangir Kabir Nanak.
To protest the attack on Nanak, Awami Juba League General Secretary Mirza Azam MP instantly called another dawn-to-dusk hartal for Tomorrow (Monday) across the country.
AL brought out a procession led by Col (Retd) Faruk Khan, MP, from Bangubandhu Museum at Dhanmondi at about 10.25am but it failed to move forward towards Russel Square because of police barricade.
Another AL precession came from Asad Gate with AL leaders Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Nasim, Capt (Retd) Taj, Abdul Matin Khosru and Mirza Azam MP to Russel Square at about 10.45 am. But it had been kept cordoned by police for several hours since 11 am in the morning.
In Badda, AL brought out a demonstration led by AKM Rahmat Ullah from Rahmat Ullah Degree College at about 8 am. But the procession was disrupted due to police barricade. Police charged batons against the agitators and at least 30 persons were picked up by the police.
During the chase and counter-chase, Zakir Hossain, General Secretary of Ward no-67 AL of Lalbag area, were injured at about 10.30am and admitted to the DMCH.
In Motijheel, an AL procession led by Latif Siddique and Asaduzzaman Noor was approaching towards Dainik Bangla Crossing from Motijheel Shapla Chattar at about 11.29 am. Four cocktails were exploded near the procession at about 11.30 am. Police charged batons five times to disperse the agitators.
“Police chased pedestrians, even office-goers, and picked up people indiscriminately from Motijheel area. They were whisked onto prison van. Sramik League President Abdul Matin Master was also picked up by police from Motijheel,” witnesses said.
Pallabi Mohila AL brought out a procession led by Dipti, a word commissioner (Reserved Seat) of Dhaka City Corporation in the morning from “Mohona”, the political office former Law Maker Kamal Ahmed Mujumder at Mirpur Section No 11. Police intercepted the procession and picked up seven women activists and leaders including Farida Yeasmin Rina at about 11 am. Police also arrested five pickets from the area.
Witnesses and hospital sources said riot police charged baton to disperse pickets near Bangabandhu Avenue Awami League central office at about 11.30am, where Motia Chowdhury received injuries.
Police also kept cordoned off the Awami League central office as party activists continued demonstration shouting anti-government slogans.
Chhatra League, the student wing of opposition Awami League, brought out a procession on the Dhaka University campus in support of the daylong countrywide hartal.
Police, however, intercepted the procession when it marched up to the Public Library. Later the BCL activists returned to the campus in the face of police barricades.



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