SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2189ference, but on August 15 (the anniversary of the assassination of Sheikh MujiburRahman, the nation’s founder and father of the current Prime Minister), the Governmentasked them to suspend their operations for the day, and the operators complied.Video rental libraries provide a wide variety of films to their borrowers, andgovernment efforts to enforce censorship on these rental films are sporadic and ineffectual.The Government does not limit citizens’ access to the Internet.The Government generally respects academic freedom. Although teachers and studentsat all levels largely are free to pursue academic assignments, research on extremelysensitive religious and political topics is forbidden.The situation on public university campuses remains volatile, seriously inhibitingthe ability of students to receive a university education and of teachers to teach.Armed clashes between student groups of different parties or of different factionswithin a particular party resulted in temporary closures of colleges and universitiesin Chittagong, Sylhet, and other localities. A woman on the Dhaka University campuswas partially stripped during New Year’s Eve celebrations on December 31,1999. After a week of heavy criticism by the press, three members of the studentwing of the ruling party were arrested but later freed on bail. A ruling party M.P.made a statement in Parliament that demanded the punishment of the victim forviolating Muslim social values by being on the streets to celebrate New Year’s Eve(see Sections 2.c., 2.d., and 5). Campus violence has little to do with ideological differences,and more to do with extortion rackets run by nonstudent party activists,including those based on physical control of dormitories. As a result of widespreadviolence and campus closures, it takes nearly 6 years to earn a 4-year degree. However,several private universities that were established during the 1990’s are not affectedby student political violence.b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.—The Constitution provides forfreedom of assembly, subject to restrictions in the interest of public order and publichealth; however, the Government frequently limits this right. Section 144 of theCriminal Procedure Code allows the Government to ban assemblies of more thanfour persons. According to one human rights organization, the Government imposedSection 144 bans 33 times during the first 9 months of the year. The Governmentsometimes uses Section 144 to prohibit rallies for security reasons, but many independentobservers believe that such explanations usually are a pretext. Supportersof the ruling party frequently will schedule their own rallies for the same venue andtime as scheduled opposition rallies and meetings, thus providing the Governmenta basis for imposing Section 144 for security reasons. The Krishak Sramik JanataLeague of former Awami League stalwart and present opposition figure KaderSiddiqi had to cancel a scheduled rally at Karimganj on May 14, because the rulingparty’s student wing announced a rally at the same time and place, prompting thelocal administration to impose Section 144. The BNP youth front could not hold itsplanned rally at Muladi in Barisal on June 29, because the local administration imposedSection 144 following a simultaneous rally by a ruling party organization atthe same location.Authorities also permit ruling party activists to blockade roads and take othersteps to disrupt opposition events. During nationwide general strikes called by theopposition, ruling party activists routinely intimidate opposition supporters andseek to coerce shopkeepers and drivers to ignore the strike.Ruling party supporters, often with the connivance and support of the police, violentlydisrupted rallies and demonstrations of the opposition parties. On August 6,at least 22 persons were injured during a gunbattle on the Islamic University Campusbetween activists of the ruling party student wing, the Bangladesh ChhatraLeague, and the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami. According to one human rights organization that cites campus sources, theshooting began when a procession of ruling party supporters opened fire on an ICSprocession. On August 6, police officers attacked a joint opposition rally led by theBNP that was held to protest the Government’s failure to eradicate the mosquitoesthat carry dengue fever. Using teargas, rubber bullets, and lathis (heavy sticks), thepolice broke up the rally and procession. More than 100 persons were injured duringthe incident (see Section 2.a.).Thirteen full or part days of opposition-called hartals (general strikes) took placeduring the year at the national or local levels. In addition there were a number oflocal hartals to demand the Government’s resignation, and to protest the enactmentof the PSA (see Sections 1.d. and 1.e.), attacks on opposition rallies and processions,rising fuel prices, and the killing of a pro-BNP lawyer (see Section 1.a.). Localizedhartals were frequent occurrences in some parts of the country.Four persons died in violence during the hartals, and many were injured, includingopposition activists, police, and many ordinary citizens (see Sections 1.a., 1.c.,and 3).VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1