VOA慢速英语--Unrest Continues in Bangladesh as Students Protest

 

Police in Bangladesh fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday to break up demonstrations¹.

Protesters said at least 40 people, many of them students, were injured.

The protesters are demanding better enforcement of traffic safety laws and better protection for those traveling by foot near schools.

Hundreds of students clashed with police in the Bashundhara area of Dhaka, the capital. The area is home to a few private universities.

Police used tear gas against protesters at Dhaka’s East West University. Another group of students marched across the grounds of Dhaka University. They called for justice and criticized the government.

A week of demonstrations

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in the demonstrations since they began last week.

The protests started after two students were killed by speeding buses. Other students took to the streets, mainly in places where traffic accidents happened. The protesters stopped vehicles and asked drivers for their operating permits. Others directed traffic themselves, in some cases separating heavy vehicles from light ones.

Some protesters threw stones at police officers and attacked vehicles. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters that more than 300 vehicles have been damaged. Some reportedly had been set on fire.

Abdus Shabbir, an emergency room doctor, told the French news agency (AFP) his hospital had treated more than 100 students on Saturday. He said that some had injuries that could have resulted from rubber bullets. Police have denied firing such bullets at the protesters.

Detention² of Shahidul Alam

On Sunday, plainclothes police officers arrested Shahidul Alam, an activist³ and well-known photographer for his comments on Facebook and in other media.

Alam told a television broadcaster that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has no credibility and was using “brute⁴ force” to stay in power. A police official told the French news agency that the activist would face legal action.

The rights group Amnesty International called for Alam’s immediate⁵ release. Omar Waraich is Amnesty’s deputy director for South Asia. He said in a statement that the arrest “marks a dangerous escalation⁶ of a crackdown by the government.”

Sheikh Hasina’s party is accusing the main opposition⁷ party and its main ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, of using student anger to incite⁸ trouble.

Bangladeshi officials have warned of stronger measures if the protests are used to create unrest.

The government’s reaction

The student protesters have demanded increased punishment for crimes involving road accidents.

On Monday, Bangladesh’s Cabinet expressed support for a proposed law. Under the proposal, the maximum punishment for an accident leading to death could be five years in jail, up from the current three years.

Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said the bill will be offered to Parliament soon.

The prime minister has promised to act on the students’ list of nine demands, one demand at a time. Their demands include bringing to justice those responsible for the recent traffic deaths; releasing students arrested in the protests; and building footbridges near all schools.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

photographer – n. cameraman; someone who uses a camera to take pictures

credibility – n. the quality of being accepted as honest or true

brute – adj. very strong

escalation – n. the state of becoming more intense or worse

crackdown – n. a campaign or attempt to punish someone for violating the law

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。