Author: AFP

BERLIN: A Berlin court on Tuesday fined a woman €600 euros (1, 82, 159 rupees) for using the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” at a protest, in a ruling slammed as a “dark day for freedom of expression” by her lawyer.

The 22-year-old, named only as Ava M, was found guilty of using the slogan at a banned gathering in Berlin’s Neukoelln district on October 11, according to a court spokeswoman.

The court concluded that the woman’s use of the phrase so soon after the October 7 raid in Israel meant it “could only be understood as a denial of Israel’s right to exist and an endorsement of the attack”, the spokeswoman said.

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is seen by some as a call for the destruction of Israel, though others say it simply appeals to equality for Palestinians and Israelis.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser outlawed the phrase in November as part of a ban on the activities of Hamas.

However, the ban is legally controversial, and courts in different parts of Germany have handed down different rulings on cases involving the phrase, with many finding it to be permissible.

Lawyer Alexander Gorski, who represented the woman in Berlin, said it was “a dark day for freedom of expression”.

“My client only wanted to express her hope for a future of democratic coexistence for all people in the region,” he said, adding that his client would appeal the decision.

The appointment came quickly after student leaders called on the 84-year-old Yunus — credited with lifting millions out of poverty in the South Asian country — to lead.

The decision was made in a meeting with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, the heads of the army, navy and air force, and student leaders.

“(They) decided to form an interim government with Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus as its chief,” Shahabuddin’s office said in a statement.

“The president has asked the people to help ride out the crisis. Quick formation of an interim government is necessary to overcome the crisis.”

Yunus will have the title of chief advisor, according to Haid Islam, one of the leaders of Students Against Discrimination who participated in the meeting.

Shahabuddin agreed that the interim government “will be formed within the shortest time” possible, Islam told reporters.

Islam described the meeting as “fruitful”.

However, there were few other details about the planned government, including the role of the military.

Yunus, who is currently in Europe, told AFP on Tuesday he was willing to lead the interim government.

“If action is needed in Bangladesh, for my country and for the courage of my people, then I will take it,” he said in a statement, also calling for free elections.

Muhammad Yunus: Bangladesh’s ‘banker to the poor’

Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus has been asked by Bangladeshi protest leaders to helm an interim government to replace ousted premier Sheikh Hasina, who had hounded him in speeches and through the courts.

The 84-year-old, known as the “banker to the poorest of the poor”, was awarded the Peace Prize in 2006 for his work loaning small cash sums to rural women, allowing them to invest in farm tools or business equipment and boost their earnings.

Grameen Bank, the microfinance lender he founded, was lauded for helping unleash breakneck economic growth in Bangladesh. Since then, scores of developing countries have copied its work.

“Human beings are not born to suffer the misery of hunger and poverty,” Yunus said during his Nobel lecture, daring his audience to imagine a world where deprivation was confined to history museums.

But his public profile in Bangladesh earned him the hostility of Hasina, who once accused him of “sucking blood” from the poor.

In 2007, Yunus announced plans to set up his own “Citizen Power” party to end Bangladesh´s confrontational political culture, which has been punctuated by instability and periods of military rule.

He abandoned those ambitions within months, but the enmity aroused by his challenge to the ruling elite has persisted.

Yunus was hit with more than 100 criminal cases and a smear campaign by a state-led Islamic agency that accused him of promoting homosexuality.

The government unceremoniously forced him out of Grameen Bank in 2011 — a decision fought by Yunus but upheld by Bangladesh´s top court.

In January he and three colleagues from one of the companies he founded were sentenced to jail terms of six months — but immediately bailed pending appeal — by a Dhaka labour court which found they had illegally failed to create a workers´ welfare fund.

All four had denied the charges and, with courts accused of rubber-stamping decisions by Hasina´s government, the case was criticised as politically motivated by watchdogs including Amnesty International.

Yunus was born into a well-to-do family — his father was a successful goldsmith — in the coastal city of Chittagong in 1940.

He credits his mother, who offered help to anyone in need who knocked on their door, as his biggest influence.

Yunus won a Fulbright scholarship to study in the United States and returned soon after Bangladesh won its independence from Pakistan in 1971 war. When he returned, he was chosen to head Chittagong University´s economics department, but the young country was struggling through a severe famine and he felt compelled to take practical action.

“Poverty was all around me, and I could not turn away from it,” he said in 2006.

“I found it difficult to teach elegant theories of economics in the university classroom… I wanted to do something immediate to help people around me.”

After years of experimenting with ways to provide credit for people too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans, he founded Grameen Bank in 1983.

The institution now has more than nine million clients on its books, according to its most recent annual report (2020), and more than 97 percent of its borrowers are women.

Yunus has won numerous high honours for his life´s work, including the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, which Barack Obama awarded him.

Cheering protesters stormed Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s palace on Monday after she fled, the culmination of more than a month of deadly anti-government protests.

Jubilant looking crowds waved flags, some dancing on top of a tank in the streets of Dhaka on Monday morning, before hundreds broke through the gates of Hasina’s official residence.

Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into the compound, waving to the camera as they celebrated.

A source close to Hasina, 76, had earlier told AFP she had left her palace for a “safer place”.

Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman would address the nation on Monday afternoon, a military spokesman told AFP without giving further details.

Before the protesters had stormed the compound, Hasina’s son urged the country’s security forces to block any takeover from her 15-year rule.

“Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution,” her son, US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy, said in a post on Facebook.

“It means don’t allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty.”

Security forces had supported Hasina’s government throughout the unrest, which began last month against civil service job quotas and then escalated into wider calls for her to stand down.

But the protesters defied curfews and deadly force.

At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers, in the deadliest day of the unrest.

Protesters and government supporters countrywide battled each other with sticks and knives, and security forces opened fire.

The day’s violence took the total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 300, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and doctors at hospitals.

Waker told officers on Saturday that the military “always stood by the people”, according to an official statement.

The military declared an emergency in January 2007 after widespread political unrest and installed a military-backed caretaker government for two years.

‘Final protest’

Hasina has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

Her government is accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including through the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.

Demonstrations began over the reintroduction of a quota scheme that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups.

The protests escalated despite the scheme having been scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court.

Soldiers and police with armoured vehicles in Dhaka had barricaded routes to Hasina’s office with barbed wire on Monday morning, but vast crowds flooded the streets, tearing down barriers.

The Business Standard newspaper estimated as many as 400,000 protesters were on the streets but it was impossible to verify the figure.

“The time has come for the final protest,” said Asif Mahmud, one of the key leaders in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign.

In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem Sunday’s protests, unlike during the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.

“Let’s be clear: The walls are closing in on Hasina: She’s rapidly losing support and legitimacy,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, told AFP.

“The protests have taken on immense momentum, fuelled by raw anger but also by the confidence that comes with knowing that so much of the nation is behind them,” he said.

In a hugely symbolic rebuke of Hasina, a respected former army chief demanded the government “immediately” withdraw troops and allow protests.

“Those who are responsible for pushing people of this country to a state of such an extreme misery will have to be brought to justice,” ex-army chief General Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan told reporters Sunday.

The anti-government movement had attracted people from across society in the South Asian nation of about 170 million people, including film stars, musicians and singers.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled her palace on Monday, a source told AFP, as masses of protesters demanding her resignation roamed the streets of Dhaka. The army chief was set to address the nation.

Jubilant-looking crowds waved flags, peacefully celebrating, including some dancing on top of a tank, as a source close to the embattled leader said she had left her palace in the capital for a “safer place”.

Hasina’s son urged the country’s security forces to block any takeover from her rule, while a senior advisor told AFP that her resignation was a “possibility” after being questioned about it.

“She wanted to record a speech, but she could not get an opportunity to do that,” the source close to Hasina told AFP.

Bangladesh’s army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, will address the nation on Monday afternoon, a military spokesman told AFP without giving further details.

Waker told officers on Saturday that the military “always stood by the people”, according to an official statement.

The military declared an emergency in January 2007 afer widespread political unrest and installed a military-backed caretaker government for two years.

‘Uphold the constitution’

Rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas have escalated into some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifed into wider calls for the 76-year-old to leave.

“Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution,” her son, US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy, said in a post on Facebook.

“It means don’t allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty.”

But protesters on Monday defied security forces enforcing a curfew, marching on the capital’s streets afer the deadliest day of unrest since demonstrations erupted last month.

Internet access was tightly restricted on Monday, ofices were closed and more than 3,500 factories servicing Bangladesh’s economically vital garment industry were shut.

Soldiers and police with armoured vehicles in Dhaka had barricaded routes to Hasina’s office with barbed wire, AFP reporters said, but vast crowds flooded the streets, tearing down barriers.

The Business Standard newspaper estimated as many as 400,000 protesters were on the streets but it was impossible to verify the figure.
“The time has come for the final protest,” said Asif Mahmud, one of the key leaders in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign.

‘Shocking violence’

At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers.

Protesters and government supporters countrywide battled each other with sticks and knives, and security forces opened fire.

The day’s violence took the total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 300, according to an AFP tally based on police, government oficials and doctors at hospitals.

“The shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop,” United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

“This is an unprecedented popular uprising by all measures,” said Ali Riaz, an Illinois State University politics professor and expert on Bangladesh.
“Also, the ferocity of the state actors and regime loyalists is unmatched in history.”

Protesters in Dhaka on Sunday were seen climbing a statue of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence leader, and smashing it with hammers, according to videos on social media verified by AFP.

‘Walls are closing in’

In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem Sunday’s protests, unlike during the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.

“Let’s be clear: The walls are closing in on Hasina. She’s rapidly losing support and legitimacy,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, told AFP.

“The protests have taken on immense momentum, fuelled by raw anger but also by the confidence that comes with knowing that so much of the nation is behind them,” he said.

In a hugely symbolic rebuke of Hasina, a respected former army chief demanded the government “immediately” withdraw troops and allow protests.

“Those who are responsible for pushing people of this country to a state of such extreme misery will have to be brought to justice,” ex-army chief General Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan told reporters Sunday.

The anti-government movement has attracted people from across society in the South Asian nation of about 170 million people, including film stars, musicians and singers.

Hasina has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January afer a vote without genuine opposition.

Her government is accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including through the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.

Demonstrations began over the reintroduction of a quota scheme that reserved more than half of all government jobs for specific groups.

The protests have escalated despite the scheme having been scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court.

Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resign, clashed with government supporters on Sunday, with dozens killed in one of the deadliest days since demonstrations began.

Rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas have escalated into some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old to step down.

At least 91 people were killed on Sunday alone, including 14 police officers, with the rival sides battling with sticks and knives and security forces firing rifles, taking the total killed since protests began in July to at least 261.

Police said protesters att­a­cked their officers, inclu­ding storming a station in the town of Enayetpur.

“The terrorists attacked the police station and killed 11 policemen,” said Bijoy Basak, a deputy inspector general.

AFP journalists repo­rted hearing sustained crackles of gunfire after dark on Sunday, with protesters defying a nationwide curfew.

Mobile internet was tightly restricted.

‘Final protest’

In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem the protests, unlike the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.

Demonstrators in the capital Dhaka, surrounded by a tightly packed and cheering crowd, waved a Bangladeshi flag on top of an armoured car as soldiers watched.

Asif Mahmud, one of the main leaders in the civil disobedience campaign, called on supporters to march on Dhaka on Monday. “Prepare bamboo sticks and liberate Bangladesh,” he wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “The time has come for the final protest,” he said.

Brought to justice

Vast crowds of protesters packed into Dhaka’s central Shahbagh Square on Sunday, with street battles in multiple sites.

“There were clashes between students and the ruling party men,” police inspector Al Helal said, adding two young men were killed in Dhaka’s Munshiganj district.

“One of the dead was hacked in his head and another had gunshot injuries.”

Another policeman, who asked not to be identified, said “the whole city has turned into a battleground”.

Two people were killed in the city of Kishioreganj, where protesters torched a ruling party office, police said.

Some former military officers have joined the student movement and ex-army chief Gen Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan turned his Facebook profile picture red in a show of support.

“We call on the incumbent government to withdraw the armed forces from the street immediately,” Bhuiyan told reporters on Sunday alongside other ex-officers, condemning “egregious killings, torture, disappearances and mass arrests”.

“Those who are responsible for pushing people of this country to a state of such an extreme misery will have to be brought to justice,” he said.

No longer about job quotas

Current army chief Waker-uz-Zaman told officers at the military headquarters in Dhaka on Saturday the “Bangladesh Army is the symbol of trust of the people”.

“It always stood by the people and will do so for the sake of people and in any need of the state,” he said, according to a statement, which did not say explicitly whether the army backed the protests.

The demonstrations attracted people from all strata of Bangladeshi society. Rap songs calling for people’s support have spread widely on social media.

“It is no longer about job quotas,” said Sakhawat, a young female protester who gave only one name, and called Hasina a “killer”.

A group of 47 manufacturers in the economically vital garment sector said they stood in “solidarity” with the protesters.

Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the ruling Awami League, has called on party activists to gather “in every district” nationwide to show their support for the government.

The unrest began in July over the reintroduction of the quota scheme, which reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups. It has since been scaled back by the country’s top court.

Student leaders rallied Bangladeshis on Saturday for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government weathered a worsening backlash over a deadly police crackdown on protesters.

Rallies against civil service job quotas sparked days of mayhem last month that killed more than 200 people in some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year tenure.

Troop deployments briefly restored order, but crowds hit the streets in huge numbers after Friday prayers in the Muslim-majority nation, heeding a call by student leaders to press the government for more concessions.

Students Against Discrimination, the group responsible for organising the initial protests, urged their compatriots to launch an all-out non-cooperation movement from Sunday.

“This includes non-payment of taxes and utility bills, strikes by government workers and a halt to overseas remittance payments through banks,” the group’s Asif Mahmud told AFP.

Mahmud’s fellow student leaders also said another round of nationwide rallies would be staged on Saturday.

“Please don’t stay at home. Join your nearest protest march,” Mahmud wrote on Facebook.

Students are demanding a public apology from Hasina for last month’s violence and the dismissal of several of her ministers.

Read more: 195 killed, 4000 arrested amid police crackdown in Bangladesh

They have also insisted that the government reopens schools and universities around the country, all of which were shuttered at the height of the unrest.

Crowds on the street have gone further, chanting demands for Hasina to leave office.

Hasina, 76, has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

Her government is accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.

Demonstrations began in early July over the reintroduction of a quota scheme — since scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court — that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups.

With around 18 million young Bangladeshis out of work, according to government figures, the move upset graduates facing an acute employment crisis.

The protests had remained largely peaceful until attacks on demonstrators by police and pro-government student groups.

Hasina’s government eventually imposed a nationwide curfew, deployed troops and shut down the nation’s mobile internet network for 11 days to restore order.

Foreign governments condemned the clampdown, with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell this week calling for an international probe into the “excessive and lethal force against protesters”.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters last weekend that security forces had operated with restraint but were “forced to open fire” to defend government buildings.

At least 32 children were among those killed last month, the UN said Friday.

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