The Awami League, now banned under the Jamaat-controlled interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, called for a “Dhaka lockdown” for Thursday to protest the ongoing trial of party chief and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity.
The party asked people to stay home on the day as a show of non-cooperation towards the Yunus regime for patronising mobs, lack of security, gross human rights violations, arbitrary arrest, custodial deaths, extrajudicial killings, and economic meltdown due to corruption and inefficiency.
The programme also included processions in rural areas from November 10 to 12, when the police and members of the BNP and Jamaat-Shibir carried out cocktail blasts and arson attacks on buses to put the blame on the Awami League.
Using the media, the administration circulated that those attacks were conducted by the Awami League, but the people did not believe them. Since the ouster of the government in August last year, the Awami League has not resorted to violence or revenge killings. The party decided to go slow and motivate the common people through their nonviolent programmes.
But ordinary people and the media have been terrified to speak up due to the fear of the state-sponsored mob lynchings.
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Since Wednesday, people in Dhaka have stopped going outside, with many educational institutions and offices declaring work-from-home policies during the lockdown.
Media reports say there were at least 13 arson attacks on buses and around 20 cocktail blasts. The administration also deployed a large number of paramilitary and police, as 50% of the Bangladesh Army went back to the barracks.
The Awami League has explicitly accused the Yunus-led interim government of orchestrating these as “conspiratorial arson attacks” and political persecution to discredit or suppress its supporters.
As a result of the chaos, the lockdown impacts included halted transportation, school/college closures, empty streets, and widespread disruptions across Dhaka and other cities, as well as on the highways on Thursday.
On Tuesday, in a charged video message circulated widely on social media, Awami League leader Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, issued a fervent appeal to Bangladeshis to observe a complete lockdown in Dhaka on November 13, framing it as a critical stand against the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
Joy’s call comes amid heightened political friction, with authorities bracing for potential unrest through large-scale security drills and vows to arrest participants.
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Joy, speaking from exile, began his approximately two-minute address with traditional greetings before launching into a scathing critique of the Yunus administration, which he described as an “illegal” regime that seized power through undemocratic means. He accused the government of dismantling Bangladesh’s economy, eroding law and order, and releasing militants previously imprisoned under Awami League rule.
“In the last one and a half years, they have destroyed our economy. In the last one and a half years, there is no law and order in Bangladesh,” Joy stated, alleging efforts to “erase the spirit of independence” and hand the nation over to “Jamaati Razakars.”
Joy urged widespread participation to demonstrate public discontent and pressure the government.
“You have to make the Dhaka blockade a success. My request to you is that none of you, even if they are trying to force themselves, should go to work. Students will not go to classes in schools and colleges. Keep shops, buses, and rickshaws closed,” he implored.
Emphasising safety in collective action, he added: “They are trying to suppress them with force. But there is nothing to fear. If you stay at home, they will not be able to do anything to you. This is the way to save the country now.”
Joy also extended a direct appeal to law enforcement personnel, portraying the government as one that has failed to deliver justice for slain officers and activists. “This government is illegal, completely illegal. These terrorists have killed the police… You should not torture our leaders and activists. We will remove this government,” he declared, invoking the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War: “We fought and won the 71 movement. We will succeed in this movement. We all want your cooperation. We have to stand together to save Bangladesh. Joy Bangla.”
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On Sunday, Sheikh Hasina spoke at a virtual programme and explicitly endorsed the “Dhaka Lockdown,” framing it as a pivotal step toward restoring democracy. In the speech, circulated via Awami League channels and social media, Sheikh Hasina condemned the interim government’s violent response to a teachers’ protest in Dhaka’s Shahbagh area the same day, where police fired on demonstrators, injuring 19 and arresting 56, including the association’s leader.
“We strongly condemn and express disgust at this tyranny. Those who fired the shots must be punished… The arrested teachers must be released immediately,” Sheikh Hasina stated, linking the incident to a broader pattern of “brutal oppression” under Yunus’s watch. She accused the regime of enabling atrocities, from enforced disappearances to massacres, and providing indemnity to perpetrators affiliated with banned Islamist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami.
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