Banned Bangladesh party turns to flash protests ahead of polls

DHAKA: Once Bangladesh’s largest political party, the Awami League has been outlawed since its leader, Sheikh Hasina was overthrown in a mass uprising last year.

Now, its supporters — encouraged by Hasina’s social media calls to “resist” — are staging flash mob protests defying the ban as the country prepares for elections from which the party is barred.

In the capita,l Dhaka, 45-year-old cleaner Mohammad Kashem described witnessing around 25 Awami League loyalists being chased, beaten, and detained by police at one such rally.

“It’s happening all over Dhaka,” Kashem told AFP, saying videos of such spontaneous demonstrations appear constantly on social media.

“We see it every day on Facebook.”

The elections, expected in February 2026, will be the first since Hasina fled into exile in India as crowds stormed her palace, ending her 15-year rule.

She has since defied court orders to attend her ongoing trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering a deadly crackdown during the revolt.

Her party and its supporters have since been pushed underground.

More than 800 have been arrested in connection with the flash mobs, say officials, which have rattled the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as he oversees the South Asian nation of 170 million until the polls.

‘Abandoned’

Still, they protest. Some rallies consist of only a handful of young men. Others draw more than 100, chanting slogans.

“Sheikh Hasina is coming!” they shout, waving small placards or unfurling banners. “Bangladesh is smiling!”

They gather for a few minutes before vanishing into the crowds.

Sometimes, multiple flash protests erupt simultaneously in different parts of Dhaka. On one day, police arrested 244 people, authorities said.

The risks are high. In the rally Kashem witnessed, several protesters were badly beaten.

“Stupid boys,” Kashem said. “The heavyweight leaders abandoned them… yet they’re risking their lives.”

The protests have unnerved Yunus’s government.

“The fascists have turned reckless, as they can see that the country is heading towards an election and the trial process (of Hasina) is progressing fast,” Yunus’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, told reporters last month.

“The government has decided to strengthen the monitoring of flash processions and other illegal gatherings.”

Hasina remains vocal on social media, issuing broadsides against Yunus and urging loyalists to “resist”.

Bangladeshi newspapers, quoting a senior party leader in hiding, reported at least 20 flash processions in the past month.

Dhaka police spokesman Md Talebur Rahman could not confirm the number of protests, but said “more than 800 people” had been arrested in connection with them.

Political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman, a member of the government’s electoral reform commission, said Hasina was risking protesters’ safety to maintain relevance.

“She is trying to earn sympathy by widely sharing the beatings, chases, dispersals and arrests of her party members,” Zahed told AFP.

‘Proper action’

Human Rights Watch has condemned the “draconian” ban on the Awami League.

“The interim government should not be engaging in the same partisan behaviour that Bangladeshis had to endure under Sheikh Hasina, whether it is stuffing the prisons with political opponents or shutting down peaceful dissent,” HRW’s Meenakshi Ganguly said.

But analysts say the protests could complicate election preparations.

Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam said “different interest groups” were trying to derail the election, including the “defeated axis”.

Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor in Hasina’s trial in absentia, said that a judicial probe was underway into the Awami League.

“Once the investigation report is ready, proper action will be taken,” Islam said.

The Awami League remains defiant.

Senior leader Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, whose current whereabouts are unclear, insists that protesters were taking to the streets out of “love” for Hasina.

He told AFP that he revelled in the trouble they have caused.

“Have you noticed how these activities have robbed the government of sleep?”