Bangladesh’s largest anti-government protest in years brings capital to standstill

SMA NEWS – DHAKA
The Bangladeshi capital came to a standstill on Saturday, with counter-terrorism units on standby as tens of thousands of supporters of the main opposition party demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and early elections.
The country’s largest protest since 2009 — when the ruling Awami League party came to power — took place amid heightened tensions after security forces fired on activists outside the headquarters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party earlier this week, leaving one person dead, and scores injured.
Hundreds of activists have been arrested over the past few days, including BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
The party made 10 demands ‘aiming to restore democracy’ during the rally, including the resignation of the government, the dissolution of parliament, the formation of a neutral caretaker Cabinet, and the dropping of all cases against recently arrested BNP members and leaders.
Protesters gathered at the Golapbagh sports ground in south Dhaka on Saturday. BNP activists announced before the rally that they expected around 200,000 people to participate.