protests in bangladesh after more road deaths with students demanding a lot of changes the government says political rivals are stirring up trouble ahead of an election what's driving the public anger and is it just about politics this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program i'm a homage enjoy him the deaths of two teenagers by a speeding bus in dhaka has sparked days of protests in bangladesh thousands of

students have blocked roads and stopped traffic demanding tougher penalties for those who cause accidents the demonstrations turned violent when police fired tear gas and used water cannon dozens of students were injured journalists were also targeted human rights watch says groups linked to the ruling elite party attacked protesters with machetes and sticks but the government denies its activists were involved and on monday it promised to introduce the death sentence for deliberate road traffic deaths in an attempt to end the unrest this is what some of the protesters have been saying. even though we've been protesting on the roads for a few days we're demanding justice for those students who were killed by a bus and we want safe roads the country's elected representatives manage all their expenditures with our tax money there is no benefit from elections if there are presented to us are ignorant about our life security and are reluctant to provide us true services continue the movement if our demands are not met immediately. must

be. to have beaten us or bumble sticks they kicked us and they hurt us in other ways but it won't affect we once a fruit whatever is happening let it be it's not a problem we don't want anyone to be killed under the wheels of buses or vehicles in the future this is what we want police say they had to act to prevent attacks on the ruling party offices. that it got to the protesters attacked party offices of anwar me league several times yesterday today four to five protesters tried to do the same we prevented them at that time and asked them to go back what they didn't then we fired tear gas shells to disperse them police arrested an award winning photographer alarm who was covering the demonstrations it's alleged he was also tortured his attention came just hours after he did an interview with al-jazeera on sunday we asked bangladesh's information minister about alums case he denies he was detained for his journalism but he has been out of. columns. we are

looking into it but our first to the producer the court the courtroom he said what will happen to him but he has not read that instead of done of this to go as we know this to be soothing the informant for the company the center of the act. so he does it is a dinner lect for the dual citizens not for the dumb of his so for done this ticket he has not been ordered on a different. he has not been out of the visas we will give a report to the quote we believe. on the house it is and we think that the john of these have security to water. on the spot and this would not be had us by the law enforcing it is all by any court does the government give protection to them.

all right let's now go to our guest joining us in london charo a lot to hog an associate fellow of asia pacific program at chatham house in colombo via skype omar waraich deputy south asia director at amnesty international and also in london david bergman a journalist who was formerly based in bangladesh for thirteen years welcome to you all charu i want to start with you today look many have said that these protests are about far more than just road safety or traffic what in your view are the issues that led to these demonstrations. i think the fact remains that they said being deceived by an idea that dissent has been suppressed for too long a questioning of the government is something that is not being tolerated and let's bear in mind that its board. its all factions all political parties across the board currently we have the army leak we is trying to bring in what is called the

digital think killer t. act are hugely the cornea piece of legislation which would seek to suppress and undermine the media so i think with this a third of widespread protests by students in the light of a lot that is going on within the country in terms of freedom of expression suppression of the st and therefore has to be new to thought omar do you agree with what charlie was saying there i mean no matter who is in power in bangladesh do you believe that there is no space that has been created for the expression of dissent or freedom of expression in general yes the space city space has been seen as nerds in the streets by successive governments and. things like that. actually have. to be taken seriously to how.

they are easier and use by which the. unseen is the use. of the line from. as we see new zealanders are on this one. david just how much of these protests embarrass the government of the prime minister sharon has seen. well it seems to. the government quite significantly. i think one has to look at the protests in the context of the fact that they little dissent is allowed in bangladesh at the moment the the government has over a number of years been very able to restrict significantly the ability of the political opposition for maintaining any sense of ability to be in opposition they have been huge numbers of address they've been disappearances the next issue killings and countless people in detention at the moment so the opposition finds it very difficult to be able to operate their elections coming and

in that context the government having been very able to have restricted the opposition suddenly see these students being able to freely protest and i think that concerns them a lot because they're not quite sure whether or not they can control it and indeed whether or not other particular forces may take it over so in that context i think we have to understand why the police and the youth wing of the government party decided to take a very repressive steps to stop these protests charo the opposition has been accused by the government of fomenting anger and they've been accused of manipulating the protesters the students that were out there in the streets to try to serve their agenda just how founded are these accusations in your opinion. well to be fair if you know at this point we have the power of our media which is putting across these accusations about. the opposition party the b. and b.

a large number of whose. party workers have been put in arrest by this government when the fact remains that when barry's cruise impunity in the country corruption is widespread licenses are issued willy nilly and without any adherence to. the fact within the those who earn the license actually. does open in the first place so they will build the basis for these protests is a very legitimate one was further served to embarrass the government and causes them to hurl these accusations about these process is the fact that you have young students out of the streets you know this is. because mint is in a very vulnerable position as far as you know it has to sort of to continue.

i do strength to the argument that this is somehow opposition to fuel because otherwise what is the legitimacy of a government which is now being you know saws severely and strongly opposed by a young population a student population you know a majority of them could be under eighteen so the fact that you know the government says that these are somehow supported by the opposition. may have a degree of truth to it but the fact is that the situation in burma beijing for many years has been very polarized and politically you know. all formal protest is somehow politically triggered and leg. student bodies i linked to political party support that takes of a much trained to into public life. oh i want to get back in

a minute to the issue of the polarization going on in bangladesh for first i want to talk specifically about the case of shah to a lot of course the very renowned photographer he was arrested he was charged under section fifty seven of bangladesh's information communications technology act which i believe charter referred to a few minutes ago now human rights group including your group has called this a draconian law used to stifle the media and political dissent can you tell us more about shadow case and also this law and how it has been enforced. sue one of the last things the show the other one did before he was that sanger was that iran has shut down and here billions of you will be very critical comments about the government's. comments that alarms the origins of bangladesh because there is a status that makes two of the search does a little country and a very valid as jesus who do that or he was covering the princess insult during the

course of which he acts is hammer who was bashed by vigilantes limbs who are. from the battle of this jobs or he and he was broadcasting live from the purser's as well made a number of comments on facebook and those of us on him go below this section fifty seven is actually a lot of the government itself has conceded is problematic and is lord and yet it is is what it is used it's been used to punish lawyers judges the glasto eat and charge the moderates it's the news it is journalists who cover for example sex workers is even used against ordinary facebook users for example will be comments about robin's and her family is a very big brewer and who has a new all that can be used by governments to punish dissent but it simply does not make it to go the troubling thing is the world above this government house of

to move beyond it and released it. all is flawed as well and her. so i think a big part of this has been a lot recently this is do two thousand and thirteen abuse is the use of presidents to shut down the sense in a country david we should take this opportunity to mention that your wife is defending scheidel but i want to ask you you specifically having worked as a journalist in bangladesh for so long how is the climate right now in bangladesh towards journalist is it deteriorating and how much has it deteriorated in recent years. i think it's always difficult to compare. when the big bangladesh nationalist party was in power and when the millage was in power there has been censorship of the media but i think that journalists now do think this is this period is as bad as it has ever been and there is significant.

censorship that takes place lot of self-censorship simply because they know that if they cross the line they will be repercussions a couple of years ago the military intelligence agency stopped all major operations from advertising with two of the country's biggest newspapers because they didn't like an article that was published in it at the television is significantly apart from being owned by individuals who are. who are business colleagues of the of the governing party or to support the governing party they are also very highly restricted even more so than the newspapers so things are extremely difficult critical things that people want to say you do not see that in newspapers on television anymore or very rarely and that is why i think what show you do said on the al-jazeera network in his interview was quite significant

because it was very bold and it talked about bangladesh in very plain language to many people would talk about privately but never publicly and i think that the government was concerned not only the show he didn't ever get it knows that he would like to say those things again but other people also independently minded as he is and impartial or not politically part design that they also know that there are significant repercussions if they speak out jar or a few minutes back you mentioned just how polarized bangladesh is currently why is that why is society there so deeply divided. i think of these they need to be a more historical look at the way bangladesh has evolved ballistically and also the manner in which democracy has evolved in palm beach post its and its separation liberation independence in one nine hundred seventy one the fact

that it was the by military regime followed by two successive leaders who also made to the power developed of a personality driven contest around their bent and of a sound sleep driven political culture which was. rife with. political protest very person's personal slandering the environment of corruption and the fact that the personality driven me of the politics meant that it was always one against the other. in showed that. the division within baghdad was ac politics became deeper and deeper and in that mix was is has been this constant changing between want really is the identity of

the militias a nation whether it rests on its being holy tradition or all on its rather all on islam as as being. an important component part of the way politics has evolved and in moving recent years the the litigation and the prosecutions of those who played a role in the liberation war. has. sort of created a messy mix of of political cultures so i see. think it's a nation which is which is sort of. like many other countries are the constantly at war with itself and it's never had a stable. show. look. internally which is more secular and inboard you know so i think it's it's

a mixture of things which have to be view. rather than you know to one particular character one individual we've seen over the years that neither of the political parties which have remained in power have have managed to steer the country in a secular democratic manner which is respectful of rights and has enabled the creation of of an honest critique in civil society space you know neither has done bad job i'm sorry who was the on the right to continue i'm sorry to interrupt it's just that i want to ask david to pick up on something you were saying david charo was talking you know about political movements within bang the dash now do you believe the country is in a unique political moment right now and because the demonstrators continue to come out day after day do these protesters feel in any way right now that they have

a bit of the upper hand well i wouldn't say that the protests themselves indicate to the countries it's a. significant point i mean the country is moving to the point where they're going to be elections. and that is very sensitive enough for the current government because they. they very much want to win those elections and people believe that they will win them by hook or by crook. and that is why to some extent they're very concerned about the student protests themselves that they don't get out of hand to use politically in a way that could destabilize the government at the moment. and why bangladeshi officials have said that if allegations that protesters or journalists were beaten that if those allegations are proven then those who had perpetrated those crimes you know that they will go on trial do you believe that that could actually happen lu xun actually is the only one who got much of president to go on.

but i'm very glad the only person who are open to that. there are people who are. largely peaceful demonstration of the x. factor as then. they're looking for evidence you can just go. one who was shot who simon and then you could see images of his version camera. they are students who are injured just as you. were indeed very very welcome development if action is if against them because sir why are we seeing.