Bangladesh

In the Chittagong hill tracts of rural south-eastern Bangladesh the bamboo is in bloom - and the local poor are hungry and facing famine. Bamboo blooms and seeds itself roughly once every 50 years; the rats love the seeds, and their high protein content causes them to breed four times faster than normal.

The head of the state-owned Titas Gas Distribution Company has estimated that 80% of his employees (including, as he was obliged to admit, himself) are corrupt - investigators are trying to trace just how many millions have been siphoned off. It is claimed that "almost everyone in the company is a millionaire".

Khokon and Malek were apparently almost the last of the workforce on the premises at 8pm, as they were washing themselves before leaving. Five officials appeared and accused them of loitering with intent to rob the company. They then beat the workers severely:

Trouble in the garment industry has continued in Dhaka(see earlier report); yesterday (Tues) several thousand workers again fought cops in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ).

The action began when factory bosses locked out workers from SQ Sweaters Ltd in the Sheorapara area of the city; the lockout was in response to protests on the previous two nights when workers allegedly refused to work, seized management officials and held them hostage in the factory.

For example; in Barguna on Sunday hundreds marched from a remote outlying village to demand food and clothing. Demonstrators were roughly handled by police and a delegation of twelve villagers were arrested and charged with "creating a chaos by gathering villagers".

The trouble began on Saturday morning at the Nasa Group factory. Supposedly one of the more 'responsible' employers - Nasa supply Primark in the UK and Wal-Mart in the USA amongst others - Nasa workers had been on strike for 2 days demanding payent of wage arrears, bonuses and extra holiday allowances.

Jute unrest

The fighting broke out as police charged baton on the garment workers fuming over unconfirmed reports that one of them was killed Thursday over the theft of a cellphone set.

Despite apologies for the assault from the government, their withdrawal of troops from Dhaka campus and the promise of an official enquiry, unrest has spread and become a more general protest against the caretaker government and its long-running State of Emergency.

The lockout occurred in the south-west of the country on Thursday 20 April, following a week of strikes and demonstrations demanding payment of wage arrears and holiday allowances.

Much of last year was spent in conflict between the two main parties, the Bangladesh National Party (NBP) and the Awami League (AL), as they squabbled over the details of rules and procedures for the General Election. In an apparent bid to end the stalemate, and the increasing social instability it brought, a caretaker government was put in place in January 2007.

New powers ban various activities, including street protests, rallies and strikes, and impose heavy restrictions on all media. Penalties for breaking the rules are between 2 and 5 years of 'rigourous imprisonment' with offenders being dealt with by special 'speedy trial tribunals'.

Bangladeshi newspapers report;

After a year of intense nationwide class struggle in 2006, (see our previous reports here) for the last 3 months Bangladesh has been in a different kind of turmoil.

The Bangladesh Daily Star yesterday reported that the attackers, led by police informant and local hoodlum Mobarak, beat up the workers, mostly women, and also confined five workers to the office of an executive on the third floor of the seven-storey Padma Poly Cotton Knit Fabrics Ltd.

Information and analysis on the workers' movements and strike waves which have swept factories in Asia.

[Picture; rioters attack police van.]