At least 150 protesters arrested in Bangladesh

At least 150 protesters arrested in Bangladesh

2011-07-03 20:36:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

DHAKA (BNO NEWS) -- Bangladeshi security forces on Sunday arrested over 150 protesters in an attempt to stop a half-day strike in capital Dhaka, Bangladesh News 24 hours reported.

The shutdown was separately called by the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, and the group Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB). The citizen committee was protesting against a gas exploration deal with a United States company, while IAB was protesting an amendment to the constitution.

According to police, the protesters were arrested on charges of indulging in arson, harassing people and setting fire to posters of the former prime minister and founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

IAB leaders claimed that one of their office remained cordoned off by police since morning. Party publicity secretary Ahmed Abdul Qaiyum said that 82 of its activists were arrested from Saturday noon to Sunday noon from different parts of the city.

Educational institutions and many shops and markets in the city were closed during the strike.

Later in the day, Professor Anu Muhammad, member-secretary of the National Committee, called for a strike on Monday to protest the mass arrests of its activists.

On June 16, the government signed a deal with the American multinational energy corporation ConocoPhillips for petroleum exploration in two deep-sea blocks in the Bay of Bengal, keeping export option open in the contract for the first time. According to the Production-Sharing Contract (PSC), ConocoPhillips will get 80 to 85 percent of the lifted gas at the cost-recovery stage.

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