Police charge batons to disperse protesters outside Hasina's house
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Police charged batons on several hundred demonstrators outside Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi house Saturday morning as they protested against party's nominations in their constituencies, reports UNB.
Witnesses said around 300 protesters called for changing the party candidates in Shariatpur-1, Pirojpur-2, Jhalakati-1, Natore-1, Natore-3, Chandpur-4 and Mymensingh-10. Six protesters were injured and two jumped into the Dhanmondi Lake as the police swung into action twice.
Some protesters from Pirojour-2 constituency staged hunger strike to press for changing the nomination. Hasina met some of the aggrieved candidates and assured them of re-examining the reports about their candidacies.
The aggrieved protesters also damaged at least six vehicles parked there. The protesters demanded nomination of Mobarak Ali Sikdar instead of BM Mozammel from Sharaitpur-1, Principal Shah Alam instead of Habibur Rahman Sheikh from Pirojpur-2, Dr Hannan Firoz instead of BH Harun from Jhalakati-1, Shamsul Huq Bhuiyan instead of journalist Shafiqur Rahman from Chandpur-4, Mahfuza Golondaz instead of Capt (retd) Gias Uddin from Mymensingh-10, Advocate Abul Kalam Azad instead of Shefali Momtaz from Natore-1, Zonaid Ali Palak instead of Hanif Ali Sheikh from Natore-3 and Mahbub Uddin Bir Bikram from Barisal-5.
bdnews24.com adds: Meanwhile, three AL leaders, who failed to get party nominations for parliamentary polls, met with party president Sheikh Hasina at her residence Saturday.
They are Abul Kalam Azad seeking the Natore-1 ticket, Junaid Ahmed Palak of Natore-3 and Mahfuza Golondaz, wife of former lawmaker for Mymensingh-10 Altaf Hossain Golondaz.
Emerging from the meeting all three told journalists that the party chief had assured them of "reconsidering the matter".
Palak claimed he got the party ticket for the constituency for the cancelled Jan 22 election, but all three said they would accept the AL president's final decision.
UNB from Kishoreganj adds: Dr Mizanul Haq, former AL MP, failing to secure party nomination has poised to fight as independent from Kishoreganj-3 (Karimganj-Tarail) in the forthcoming election.
Apparently a popular figure, Haq is campaigning across the constituency, wearing shroud in protest against the party decision. A large number of his followers joined the campaign.
Grass-roots party activists had earlier voted him with overwhelming support for the party nomination. Ignoring that the party high command had chosen Nasirul Islam Khan, a rich businessman of the area, as the party candidate, evoking loud protests from the activists.
Witnesses said around 300 protesters called for changing the party candidates in Shariatpur-1, Pirojpur-2, Jhalakati-1, Natore-1, Natore-3, Chandpur-4 and Mymensingh-10. Six protesters were injured and two jumped into the Dhanmondi Lake as the police swung into action twice.
Some protesters from Pirojour-2 constituency staged hunger strike to press for changing the nomination. Hasina met some of the aggrieved candidates and assured them of re-examining the reports about their candidacies.
The aggrieved protesters also damaged at least six vehicles parked there. The protesters demanded nomination of Mobarak Ali Sikdar instead of BM Mozammel from Sharaitpur-1, Principal Shah Alam instead of Habibur Rahman Sheikh from Pirojpur-2, Dr Hannan Firoz instead of BH Harun from Jhalakati-1, Shamsul Huq Bhuiyan instead of journalist Shafiqur Rahman from Chandpur-4, Mahfuza Golondaz instead of Capt (retd) Gias Uddin from Mymensingh-10, Advocate Abul Kalam Azad instead of Shefali Momtaz from Natore-1, Zonaid Ali Palak instead of Hanif Ali Sheikh from Natore-3 and Mahbub Uddin Bir Bikram from Barisal-5.
bdnews24.com adds: Meanwhile, three AL leaders, who failed to get party nominations for parliamentary polls, met with party president Sheikh Hasina at her residence Saturday.
They are Abul Kalam Azad seeking the Natore-1 ticket, Junaid Ahmed Palak of Natore-3 and Mahfuza Golondaz, wife of former lawmaker for Mymensingh-10 Altaf Hossain Golondaz.
Emerging from the meeting all three told journalists that the party chief had assured them of "reconsidering the matter".
Palak claimed he got the party ticket for the constituency for the cancelled Jan 22 election, but all three said they would accept the AL president's final decision.
UNB from Kishoreganj adds: Dr Mizanul Haq, former AL MP, failing to secure party nomination has poised to fight as independent from Kishoreganj-3 (Karimganj-Tarail) in the forthcoming election.
Apparently a popular figure, Haq is campaigning across the constituency, wearing shroud in protest against the party decision. A large number of his followers joined the campaign.
Grass-roots party activists had earlier voted him with overwhelming support for the party nomination. Ignoring that the party high command had chosen Nasirul Islam Khan, a rich businessman of the area, as the party candidate, evoking loud protests from the activists.