At least 36 people were killed and 60 injured as police fought running battles with
thousands of Islamic fundamentalists in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka today.
The protestors are calling for the death penalty for blasphemy, and for a number of atheist bloggers - who published posts demanding tougher action against war criminals - to be hung.
Four bloggers have been arrested for offending religious sentiments. Sheikh Hasinas Awami League government has rejected demands for tougher blasphemy sentences, however, and banned protests in Dhaka until midnight tonight. The leader of the Hefazat-e Islami group behind the protests, which accounts for just two per cent of the countrys schools, was today ordered to leave the capital as police tried to contain the violence.
The clashes are the latest to grip the Bangladeshi capital in recent months as political tensions have intensified in the run-up to next Januarys elections, and amid strong Islamic opposition to the governments inquiry into war crimes committed during the 1971 liberation war when the country broke away from Pakistan.
A number of opposition groups have called general strikes to demand a caretaker government to oversee the general election campaign later this year, while others launched a series of demonstrations at Shahbagh, Dhaka, in February to call for convicted war criminals to face the death penalty.
The latest demonstrations mark the opening of a third front in the Awami League governments troubles. Police chiefs and officials moved quickly to try to end the protests and suppress sympathetic media coverage. A pro-Islamic television station, Diganta, was shut down after it broadcast footage of running battles between police and demonstrators, with the government accusing the station of inciting religious tension in the country. The station is owned by an Islamic party leader accused of war crimes.
Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor of International Relations at Dhaka University said Hefazet e Islami could become a significant group if the two main polical parties, the Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party, fail to resolve their differences over the appointment of a caretaker government for the duration of the election campaign later this year.
Much of what happens, I think, depends on how quickly the two major parties can settle their election differences in particular the process of holding next elections. If there is delay, the space will be there this kind of violence or something similiar and Hefazet will probably try to exploit the situation, he said.
36 killed in Dhaka as Islamic militants clash with police - Telegraph
Islam and violence go hand in hand??