Skip to main content
Bangladeshi democracy is just window-dressing
Support for both the students and the workers of Bangladesh is an imperative, as they fight unjust and brutal government impositions, says CLAUDIA WEBBE
Sanjida consoles her mother after receiving the remains of her son, who was shot during clashes between the police and anti-quota protesters, at a morgue in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 22, 2024

DESPITE brutal state repression of protest including the murder of protesting students, the public desecration of the bodies of victims and a shutdown of educational institutions in Bangladesh, the resistance movement of students and others in that country has continued to gather strength.

The Bangladeshi government has admitted that at least 147 protesters have been killed so far by state police and militias, but Amnesty International puts the number at over 200 and says that the Bangladeshi government has issued “shoot to kill” orders to its forces, including army units and militias, to put down the unrest.

Anger at unfair and nepotistic government employment practices has swelled into a general rage at what protesters consider to be structural injustice and corruption under a dictatorial regime.

Liberation webinar, 30 November2024, 6pm (UK)
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
DEFIANT: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum
Features / 10 March 2025
10 March 2025
With trade wars backfiring, allies resisting military demands, and approval ratings plummeting, Trump’s dangerous pursuit of colonial ambitions threatens to end the ‘American century’ with catastrophic conflict, warns CLAUDIA WEBBE
DAMAGING AGENDA: Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall
Features / 24 February 2025
24 February 2025
Labour is deliberately continuing Tory policies that cost us £38 billion more than they save while driving illness rates higher — despite the evidence that previous sanctions doubled suicide attempts, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
Wes Streeting
Features / 10 February 2025
10 February 2025
The Labour Party, once the proud architect of our health service, has become its undertaker, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
HEAVY HANDED: Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Khalid
Features / 29 January 2025
29 January 2025
What we are seeing now in the policing of Gaza protests is a manifestation of an authoritarianism that the government intends to inflict on our country, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Similar stories
People gather in front of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (
Features / 9 August 2024
9 August 2024
NISAR AHMED, former chair of the Bangladeshi Workers Council and long-time community activist, talks to Jamshid Ahmadi, editor of the Liberation Journal, about the momentous struggle that toppled a 15-year regime
THE VATICAN: Pope Francis voiced his hope yesterday that the
Features / 22 July 2024
22 July 2024
As deadly police violence escalates and fiery protests spread, ARKA BHADURI explains how a fight for fair recruitment for public service jobs has become a challenge to the ruling Awami League’s grip on power