Bangladesh: Awami League calls for nationwide protests in February

Ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League has announced a series of protests demanding the resignation of Professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government for its "oppression" of the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh.

This comes as the first major demonstration by the Awami League, with most of the party leaders having either been arrested or gone underground since the fall of the Hasina-led government on 5 August 2024 following a student-led anti-discrimination movement.

According to a statement posted on the Awami League's verified Facebook page, the party will take to the streets starting 1 February to press for the resignation of the interim government and implement the strike and blockade programmes.

The statement said the party would distribute leaflets and campaign for their demands from Saturday, 1 February, to Wednesday, 5 February.

Protest marches and rallies would be held nationwide on 6 February, followed by further demonstrations and rallies on 10 February.

It also said a nationwide blockade has been announced for 16 February, and a dawn-to-dusk ‘strict’ strike would take place on 18 February.

The statement, which referred to Hasina as the ‘prime minister’ despite the Awami League having been ousted from power, also demanded the withdrawal of murder cases and other charges against the ousted prime minister and other party leaders from the International Crimes Tribunal.

It termed the cases against Hasina and others ‘farcical trials’.

Previously, the ousted party had announced plans to take to the streets on 10 November 2024, but failed to do so.

Despite the new call for protests, blockades, rallies and strikes, the Awami League has been largely inactive since 5 August when party president Sheikh Hasina escaped to India following the mass uprising.