“Who should get benefits if not the families of freedom fighters," Hasina said at a press conference last month. The inflammatory word turned a protest that had been narrowly focused on economic grievances into a movement that channeled broader suppressed rage over Hasina’s governance. Hasina spent years in exile in India, before eventually returning to Bangladesh and taking over the Awami League party. Many protesters seized on the collaborator term as a badge of honor, turning it into a protest slogan: “Who are you? A minister in the Hasina government said that the shooting was unlawful and that it was investigating the incident.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 07, 2024 11:16 UTC