Hundreds of students and political activists in Bangladesh have formed an alliance to protect their student-led “revolution” and have clashed with supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They prevented the group from reaching the house that belonged to her father, the assassinated independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The demonstration took place on Thursday and was organized by Hasina’s Awami League party to mark the anniversary of Rahman’s murder along with other members of his family on August 15, 1975, during a military coup.
Sheikh Hasina, who survived the coup attempt along with her sister, was visiting Germany at the time. Her government had previously designated August 15 as a national holiday, but this was revoked by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who assumed power after Hasina’s ousting.
Armed with bamboo poles, iron rods, and pipes, the protesters blocked access to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, which has become a monument to Hasina’s father in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka. Rahman is popularly referred to as “Bangabandhu,” meaning “Friend of Bengal.”
The situation escalated after protesters set fire to the house just hours after Hasina, 76, had fled to India on August 5, marking a dramatic end to her 15-year authoritarian rule. Her removal followed an uprising that resulted in over 300 deaths.
In her first public statement since her abrupt departure, Hasina urged her supporters to “pray for the salvation of all souls by offering wreaths and prayers” outside the memorial. However, her opponents have declared their intention to prevent Hasina’s supporters from gathering, fearing they might create chaos during the commemoration.
Throughout the night, a party was held where protesters played music and danced outside the museum using loudspeakers. “Fugitive and dictator Sheikh Hasina has ordered her thugs and militia forces to come to the site to instigate a counter-revolution,” said 26-year-old Imraul Hasan Kayes to AFP. “We are here to protect our revolution so that it does not slip from our hands.”
Several individuals suspected of being Awami League supporters were beaten with sticks, while others were forced away from the location.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s interim government announced on Thursday that the United Nations will investigate the “atrocities” committed during the weeks-long protests that led to Hasina’s ouster. This announcement followed a phone call between Yunus and Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, where officials from the interim government stated that UN investigators are likely to arrive next week.
Hasina’s administration faced criticism for widespread human rights violations, including mass arrests and extrajudicial killings of thousands of her political opponents during her 15-year tenure. Local authorities have also initiated investigations into allegations of murder, genocide, and crimes against humanity committed by the ousted Hasina, her cabinet members, and high-ranking security officials.