The Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee has come down heavily against the Yunus regime for unilaterally awarding port management tasks to foreign companies without proper assessment and tender process, disregarding concerns over the country’s sovereignty.
On Thursday, a protest march organised by left-wing political groups demanding the cancellation of plans to lease key terminals of Chittagong Port to foreign companies was stopped by police at Kakrail intersection in Dhaka. The incident led to a scuffle, injuries to several protesters, and sharply conflicting narratives between demonstrators and the police.
The march, jointly organised by the Left Democratic Alliance, Anti-Fascist Left Bloc, Bangladesh JASAD, Jatiya Gano Front and supported by student organisations, began after a rally at the National Press Club around 11:30am. Protesters attempted to march toward Jamuna, the official residence of Muhammad Yunus, to press their demand to scrap what they called “non-transparent and anti-national” agreements to hand over the Laldia-Pangaon, New Mooring, and Patenga terminals to foreign operators.
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Police blocked the procession at Kakrail around 12:20pm. Demonstrators allege that police carried out an unprovoked baton charge, injuring at least 25–30 activists. Among the injured were senior leaders such as CPB general secretary Abdullah Kafy Al Ratan, CPB central committee member Kazi Ruhul Amin, BASAD (Marxist) leader Seema Datta, and several student activists.
In a strongly worded statement issued on behalf of the Democratic Rights Committee, noted economist Professor Anu Muhammad on Friday condemned the police action as “fascist-style repression” and accused the interim government of rushing secretive port deals that harm national interest, citing media revelations of irregularities and possible conflicts of interest.
However, Masud Alam, Deputy Commissioner (Ramna Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, rejected the baton-charge allegation. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he stated that rallies and processions are prohibited near the chief adviser’s residence, a rule repeatedly communicated to the organisers. “When they still tried to proceed, police formed a barricade. There was pushing and shoving, but it cannot be called a baton charge. We simply prevented them from moving forward,” he said.
After the confrontation, protesters staged a brief sit-in at Kakrail before returning to the National Press Club around 1:10pm. BASAD general secretary Bazlur Rashid Firoz announced a fresh protest rally in front of the Press Club at 4pm on Friday.
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The incident occurred amid escalating national controversy over the interim government’s port leasing plans. On Thursday, the High Court delivered a split verdict on a writ petition challenging the legality of the leasing process: one judge declared it unlawful and called for suspension, while the other upheld the government’s authority. The case has been referred to a third judge for a final decision.
Critics, particularly from left and nationalist circles, continue to accuse the Yunus administration of undue haste and lack of transparency, alleging the deals favour foreign (especially US-linked) companies at the expense of Bangladesh’s sovereignty and revenue. The government has so far maintained that the leasing will bring efficiency and investment to the port without compromising national interest.
As legal uncertainty persists and public opposition grows, left-wing groups have vowed to intensify their movement until all ongoing foreign leasing processes at Chittagong Port are scrapped.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) condemned the action as a “brutal and pre-planned attack.”
The CPB claimed that General Secretary Abdullah Kafi Ratan was “thrown onto the road and brutally beaten,” while central committee member and labour leader Kazi Ruhul Amin suffered injuries from police assault.
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The party said over 50 leaders and activists were injured and demanded the immediate removal of the Home Affairs Adviser and the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Home Affairs, citing targeted repression of opposition voices.
Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque also denounced the assault, declaring that “the country’s important container terminal cannot be handed over to foreigners through attacks and oppression.”
In Sylhet, police similarly obstructed a protest march by the Left Democratic Alliance and Anti-Fascist Left Front, preventing local leaders from holding a demonstration in solidarity with the Dhaka rally.
Port workers vow fierce resistance
Workers in Chittagong took to the streets on Friday, demanding that the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) scrap its lease agreements for Laldia and the Pangaon terminals and abandon any move to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT).
The Chittagong Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a platform uniting dozens of port and industrial workers’ unions, organised a massive workers’ rally followed by a torch procession in the Sagorika industrial area at 4pm, drawing hundreds of leaders and workers from various labour groups.
Jatiya Sramik Dal’s Chittagong Divisional General Secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar presided over the event, while Trade Union Centre (TUC) Central Committee Organiser Fazlul Kabir Mintu conducted the programme.
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Speaking as the chief guest, Tapan Dutta, president of TUC’s Chittagong district committee and a member of the Labour Reform Commission, declared that Chittagong Port is a strategic national asset central to Bangladesh’s economy and security, and any attempt to lease out its facilities to foreign entities would face fierce resistance from workers.
He emphasised that no unelected interim government has the political mandate to decide the future of such vital state assets. Handing over port facilities in a zone that includes the naval headquarters and key oil installations, he warned, could seriously jeopardise national security.
Dutta reminded the gathering that workers had already made their position clear during the protest in Dhaka and warned that any attempt to ignore their demand would trigger an even stronger response. “The country’s future will not be held hostage,” he asserted.
Immediately after the rally, he announced that workers will take out a red-flag march towards the port from Dewanhat intersection on December 10.
Speakers from across the labour spectrum echoed the same demand. Among them were SK Khoda Toton of the Bangladesh Labour Federation, TUC Chittagong district General Secretary Mosiud Doula, BNP-backed labour organisers SM Jamal Uddin and Kazi Anwarul Haq Huni, Socialist Labour Front leader Helal Uddin Kabir, BLF general secretary Abu Ahmed Mia, and many others.
In his closing remarks, SKOP convener Nurullah Bahar declared that Laldiar Char, Pangaon, and the entire Chittagong Port belong to the people of Bangladesh and must never be handed over to any foreign or multinational operator. He warned that SKOP, together with all its affiliated unions, would launch nationwide protests and industrial action if the government did not immediately withdraw the lease decisions.
Bahar further stated that while allegations of corruption inside the port system must be thoroughly investigated, using those allegations as a pretext to lease out core national assets to foreigners is “a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.”
The workers dispersed peacefully after the torch procession, but made it clear that the movement will only intensify in the coming days.
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