The Al Jazeera Interview
Below is the interview Shahidul Alam gave to Al Jazeera in August 2018 prior to his arrest. There is a transcript below.
Dr. Shahidul Alam: Very much larger. This has been going on for a very, very long time. It’s an unelected government so they did not really have a mandate to rule but they have been clinging on by brute force. The looting of the banks, the gagging of the media, you've mentioned just now that mobile internet connectivity is currently switched off, the extra-judicial killings, the disappearances, you need to get protection money at all levels, bribery at all levels, corruption, in any case, it’s a never ending list. It’s, it’s been huge. So, it really is that pent up energy, emotion, anger that has been let loose. This particular incident, sad as it is, really the valve, that allowed things to go through. Very recently, there was another very big protest about the quota because the quota system is rigged in such a way that only people close to the party in power get to get government jobs. And there is a disproportionate amount of jobs going to them, so ordinary people protested. That was very brutally brought down. Under pressure, the Prime Minister offered reforms but then reneged on them -- that’s also part of the reason. So this time when the students did go on protest, um, again it went to a situation when they can’t control it and the Prime Minister has promised that she would see to their demands but of course people no longer will believe, she has no credibility, she has made promises before, it’s not been accepted. So now, they don’t do it. But I think what we need to look at is what’s happening in the streets today, the police specifically asked for help from these armed goons to combat unarmed students demanding safe roads. I mean, how ridiculous is that. Today I was in the streets, there are people with machetes in their hands chasing unarmed students and the police are standing by watching it happen. In some cases, they are actually helping it out, I mean, I have been under, this morning, there was tear gassing, I saw the police going, ganging up, trying to catch these unarmed students, whereas these armed goons are going out wielding sticks and machetes, walking past, and they are just standing by.
Al Jazeera: So where do you think things are going to go from here? Because these protests appear to have spread across the country quite spontaneously and without any kind of central leadership here. This is part of the challenge that the government is dealing with, this is so, so, grassroots, in the way that it has spread.
Dr. Shahidul Alam: Well, I think the government has miscalculated. It certainly felt that fear was enough, repression would have been enough. But I think you cannot tame an entire nation in this manner. And they of course are approaching elections, so the nearer it gets to elections, the more sensitive they are. They know, if there is a fair and free election, they will lose. But they haven’t got an exit plan because they have misruled for so long, that if they do lose, they would be torn apart. So they have to hang on by any means. And that’s exactly what they are doing. They are clinging on, using the entire might of the system, plus the armed goons at their disposal.
Al Jazeera: Good to speak to you. Shahidul Alam, joining us there from Dhaka.
Transcript of interview
Al Jazeera: Let's look at why road safety is such a sensitive issue in Bangladesh. More than 25,000 people have been killed on its road in the past three and half years, that's 20 people a day dying and more than 62000 have been injured on the roads. Joining us now via Skype from Dhaka is Shahidul Alam, he's a photographer and social activist. So as we've been saying, these protests were sparked by two teens who were killed in a road accident. But is this all about road safety or is there something larger going on here?Dr. Shahidul Alam: Very much larger. This has been going on for a very, very long time. It’s an unelected government so they did not really have a mandate to rule but they have been clinging on by brute force. The looting of the banks, the gagging of the media, you've mentioned just now that mobile internet connectivity is currently switched off, the extra-judicial killings, the disappearances, you need to get protection money at all levels, bribery at all levels, corruption, in any case, it’s a never ending list. It’s, it’s been huge. So, it really is that pent up energy, emotion, anger that has been let loose. This particular incident, sad as it is, really the valve, that allowed things to go through. Very recently, there was another very big protest about the quota because the quota system is rigged in such a way that only people close to the party in power get to get government jobs. And there is a disproportionate amount of jobs going to them, so ordinary people protested. That was very brutally brought down. Under pressure, the Prime Minister offered reforms but then reneged on them -- that’s also part of the reason. So this time when the students did go on protest, um, again it went to a situation when they can’t control it and the Prime Minister has promised that she would see to their demands but of course people no longer will believe, she has no credibility, she has made promises before, it’s not been accepted. So now, they don’t do it. But I think what we need to look at is what’s happening in the streets today, the police specifically asked for help from these armed goons to combat unarmed students demanding safe roads. I mean, how ridiculous is that. Today I was in the streets, there are people with machetes in their hands chasing unarmed students and the police are standing by watching it happen. In some cases, they are actually helping it out, I mean, I have been under, this morning, there was tear gassing, I saw the police going, ganging up, trying to catch these unarmed students, whereas these armed goons are going out wielding sticks and machetes, walking past, and they are just standing by.
Al Jazeera: So where do you think things are going to go from here? Because these protests appear to have spread across the country quite spontaneously and without any kind of central leadership here. This is part of the challenge that the government is dealing with, this is so, so, grassroots, in the way that it has spread.
Dr. Shahidul Alam: Well, I think the government has miscalculated. It certainly felt that fear was enough, repression would have been enough. But I think you cannot tame an entire nation in this manner. And they of course are approaching elections, so the nearer it gets to elections, the more sensitive they are. They know, if there is a fair and free election, they will lose. But they haven’t got an exit plan because they have misruled for so long, that if they do lose, they would be torn apart. So they have to hang on by any means. And that’s exactly what they are doing. They are clinging on, using the entire might of the system, plus the armed goons at their disposal.
Al Jazeera: Good to speak to you. Shahidul Alam, joining us there from Dhaka.
