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5 Killed During Protest at China-backed Bangladesh Power Plant

Shaikh Azizur Rahman

   At least fivepeoplewere shotdeadwhen police opened fire on hundreds of
   laborersdemonstratingover unpaid wages and working hoursin Bangladesh.
   The shooting occurredat theconstructionsite of a Chinese-financed power
   plant inthesoutheasternpart of the country, police officials said.

   Anwar Hossain, a senior police officer inthe city ofChittagong,said
   that police on the site ofthe futurecoal-firedChittagong Power
   Plant(CPP)in theBanskhaliareawere forced to open fireSaturdayafter
   theprotestersattacked them.

   "The agitating laborers set fire to vehicles and other machineries on
   the site. Whenpolicemenon duty tried to control the violence, the
   protesters surrounded them and attacked them with bricks and stones,"
   Hossainsaid."Policewere caught in a situation like a siege and were
   forced to respond with gunfire."

   Azizul Islam, police chief ofBanskhali,said that the protesters far
   outnumbered theofficerswho were on duty.

   "There were around 50policemendeployed at the site while the protesters
   who attacked them were over 2,000[in number]. At least
   threepolicemenwere injured," Islam said.Healsosaid police opened fire
   in response.

   A junior police officer who didnot want to be identified because he is
   not authorized to speak to the media,said,"there are Chinese nationals
   working at the under-construction plant. Police had to take extra
   precautions for the presence of the foreigners on the site."

   SomeresidentsofBanskhalisaid thedispute over the wageshad been taking
   placefor severaldays.

   "The laborers were seeking a hike in their wages. They were demanding
   clearance of their overdue wages, half workday on Fridays and daily
   breaks fornamaaz(prayer) and Iftar (evening meal with which Muslims end
   theRamadanfast) duringRamadan. The laborers were protesting also
   because they were being forced to work 10 hours a day," Aminul Islam, a
   resident ofBanskhali, who supported the demonstrating protesters,
   toldVOA.

   Islam said the clashes began with protesting laborers on one side and
   police and foreign workers on the otherside.

   "Soon, we heard the gunshots from the site of the clashes inside the
   complex of the power plant. Then we saw laborers with bullet injuries
   being carried out of the complex on way to the hospital,"Islam added.

   Several doctors fromChittagong Medical College Hospitaltold local
   mediathat many people were lying on the ground with gunshot wounds.

   Chinese-based company

   A consortium of two companies--Bangladesh-based S.Alamgroup and China's
   Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III(SEPCOIII)--signed
   a deal in 2016 to jointly build the 1,320-megawattpower plant. The
   state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board is to buy electricity
   from the consortium once the plant becomes operational.

   The Chinese company hasa30% stake in the plant,whichisone of a series
   of investment projects Beijing is pushing to build closer ties with
   Dhaka.

   Soon after the S.Alam-SEPCOIII consortium began acquiring land for the
   proposed plant in 2016, expertssaidsteps were being taken to build the
   plant without an Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA)or public
   consultation, which are mandatory.Those concerns were shared by many
   localresidents.

   In 2016, police firedon a group of local residents inBanskhaliwhen they
   were protesting theconstructionof the plant. Fourdied on the spot and
   two othersdied in the hospital a few days later.

   In 2017,clashes between groupson both sides of the issueled to the
   death ofanother local resident.

   In a joint statement, 68 prominent citizens of Bangladesh, including
   many social activists, condemned Saturday's killings inBanskhali.

   "During the period of the ongoing pandemic, lives and livelihoods of
   working-class people have been severely jeopardized. In such a
   situation, non-payment of wages amounts to violation of labor laws and
   human rights," the statement said.

   Hong Kong-based Bangladeshi rights activist
   MohammadAshrafuzzamansaid,the coal-fired-power plant like the oneunder
   constructioninBanskhaliexposes Bangladesh's double standards while the
   country seeks"climate justice"and compensation for being affected by
   global warming.

   "In 2016 and 2017, during the anti-plant demonstrations, at least seven
   people were killed and over 100 were wounded. Perpetrators in those
   cases have not been brought to justice. The owner of S.Alamgroup is
   well-known for his connections in the higher echelons of the ruling
   party of Bangladesh,"Ashrafuzzaman, liaison officer ofAsian Legal
   Resource CenterinHongKong, told VOA.

   "I am sure, none of the Saturday's victims, who have lost lives and
   those sustained bullet wounds, will be afforded justice. The poor and
   the powerless people do not have access to justice in Bangladesh
   now,"Ashrafuzzaman said.

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