VZCZCXRO9999
RR RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #3571/01 1661106
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151106Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8773
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 9167
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 8587
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1172
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7485
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 003571 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BG
SUBJECT: WEEK OF PROTESTS CONSIDERED A SUCCESS BY OPPOSITION 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Awami League (AL) and its 14-party 
alliance declared a 36-hour hartal on June 13 and 14 on the 
heels of their "siege of Dhaka" program.  The hartal appeared 
to be better observed than previous ones, with some incidents 
of violence. The AL views the action as a success, and has 
announced a series of new protests including a "siege" on the 
Election Commission (EC) for June 20. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) The AL and its allies declared a 36-hour hartal from 6 
AM on Tuesday, June 13 to 6 PM on Wednesday, June 14.  The 
hartal was a follow-on action to the "siege of Dhaka" on 
Sunday, June 11 that effectively shut down several key 
transportation routes into the city for several hours and led 
to some violent clashes between law enforcement officers and 
protestors. 
 
¶3. (U) Compared to other recent hartals, this 36-hour hartal 
was relatively well-respected, though it was more strictly 
observed on the first day than on the second.  There was 
almost no traffic in downtown Dhaka  on Tuesday, June 13 and 
most shops on the main thoroughfares were shuttered. 
However, by Tuesday evening truck traffic had begun to appear 
on the streets.  On the morning of Wednesday, June 14 the 
city was again shut down, but the hartal began to lose its 
discipline with traffic starting to flow by mid-day. 
 
SOME VIOLENCE... 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Although the hartal was not very violent there were 
still some incidents worth noting. At 5:30 AM on the morning 
of June 13 five shots were fired at the house of Election 
Commissioner Justice Mahfuzur Rahman in the Mohammadpur 
section of Dhaka.  No one was injured in the attack, and the 
police brought two night guards from the building in for 
questioning.  At approximately 3:45 PM on June 14 three 
Molotov cocktails were thrown at the apartment building where 
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) M.A. Aziz used to reside. 
The CEC, who currently lives in government housing elsewhere, 
was not in the vicinity of the attacks, and the bombs caused 
only superficial damage. 
 
¶5. (U) The most serious public disturbance occurred on 
Wednesday morning in Kamrangirchar in southwest Dhaka.  The 
Kamrangirchar police station head and several officers were 
beaten up after they detained a local Awami League leader.  A 
two-hour clash between AL supporters and police 
reinforcements ensued, with the protestors using sticks and 
throwing bricks and the police retaliating with tear gas. 
The police chief required 14 stitches for a head wound, and 
several other protestors were also injured. 
 
BUT TO THE OPPOSITION, A SUCCESS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Dr. Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir, a member of the AL 
Presidium, defended the right of the AL to call the "siege" 
and hartal, saying that this was a political culture "based 
on the democratic rights that Gandhi fought for" and that 
"civil disobedience is the only option left when democratic 
processes fail."  He argued that since the AL had been denied 
a voice in the Parliament as the democratic opposition, its 
only recourse was to take to the streets. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Bangladesh Observer editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, 
an informal advisor to Sheikh Hasina, told PolOff that the AL 
considered this week's action a success.  However, he 
attributed the good turnout and participation at least in 
part to frustration about price increases, gas shortages, and 
the constant electricity problems, issues that the opposition 
seems to have started to tap into more successfully. 
Chowdhury echoed Dr. Alamgir's statement that the AL felt it 
had few options other than to take their protests to the 
streets, though he acknowledged that the AL risked a public 
backlash if it resorted to this technique too frequently. 
 
MORE FOCUSED PROTESTS IN THE COMING DAYS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) On Wednesday evening AL president Sheikh Hasina 
announced a series of further protests. This new program 
emphasized more modest and focused actions, rather than new 
hartals.  The program includes a demonstration in Dhaka on 
June 16, a country-wide demonstration on June 17, a "siege" 
of the Election Commission in Dhaka and district election 
offices across the country on June 20, and a transportation 
blockade across the country on July 2.  She told the press 
that in developing this new strategy, the AL-led alliance had 
 
DHAKA 00003571  002 OF 002 
 
 
taken into account the suffering that hartals tended to 
cause, particularly for the poor. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Most AL officials are interpreting the week's 
activities as a success.  However, the modest follow-on 
program could mean that the AL is trying to think more 
strategically, capitalizing on its perceived success this 
week but not wanting to overreach. By focusing on the 
Election Commission, which has come under increasing 
criticism from the media, the opposition and even some 
factions of the ruling coalition, the AL sees a potentially 
easy win within its grasp. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The AL is walking a fine line right now. On the one 
hand, it wants to do everything it can to discredit the BDG 
before it leaves office.  However, it does not want to 
instigate so much chaos that it prompts a harsh reaction. 
That being said, the temptation for the opposition to fall 
back on hartals as its principle method of agitation may be 
too great, particularly if the new round of focused protests 
does not generate the degree of public interest this week's 
program did. 
BUTENIS