Bangladesh won’t allow Sheikh Hasina’s ‘fascist’ party to hold protests today

Around three months after former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country.

After massive anti-government protests in August, the Awami League has called for a protest rally in Dhaka on Sunday. However, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has issued a strict warning to the Awami League against holding protests.

“The Awami League in its current form is a fascist party. There is no way this fascist party will be allowed to hold protests in Bangladesh.” Shafiqul Alam, Yunus’s press secretary, said in a statement on Saturday.

Alam further said that people who would try to hold rallies, gatherings or processions will “face full force of the law-enforcing agencies”. “The interim government will not tolerate any violence or any attempt to break the law-and-order situation in the country,” he added.

This comes after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of Bangladesh imposed a ban on the Awami League’s student wing, the Chatra League, last month.

A statement by the party said, “Our protest is against taking away the rights of the people of the country; against the rise of fundamentalist forces; against the conspiracy to disrupt the lives of common people.We urge you all to join Awami League leaders and workers to protest against misrule of this current regime.”