Bangladesh protest clashes 'kill 15'

6 May 2013 Last updated at 11:12 GMT Clashes between police and protesters began on Sunday and continued into Monday

At least 15 people are reported to have been killed and more than 60 hurt after police and Islamist protesters clashed in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse a Sunday protest organised by the group Hefazat-e Islam.

But there were later running battles throughout Sunday and into Monday in areas across the city.

Tens of thousands of Islamists had gathered in the city to call for stronger Islamic policies.

Rioters went on to set fire to shops and vehicles.

'Very aggressive'

Central Dhaka was reported to be calm following a day and night of violence.

Police said a ban had been imposed on all rallies and protests in the city until midnight on Monday to prevent a repeat of the clashes.

Continue reading the main story A tightly-knit coalition of a dozen or so Islamist groups, pushing to change Bangladesh's secular culture via imposition of what it sees as proper Islamic waysRose to prominence in Feb 2013, rallying against a campaign that demanded the death penalty for an Islamist leader convicted of war crimes Support drawn from religious schools across BangladeshHas 13-point charter of demands including exemplary punishment to those who "insult Islam".Thousands of Islamist activists were seen fleeing the Motijheel area of Dhaka on Sunday as police moved in to take control of the area.

Having secured the business district by the early hours of Monday, the police said officers were searching for protesters hiding in nearby buildings.

The area around the city centre's largest mosque had turned into a battleground as police reacted to stone-throwing rioters with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and truncheons.

Clashes also broke out in Kanchpur on the south-eastern outskirts of Dhaka.

There were varying reports of the number of dead and injured, but police have confirmed that two officers and a member of the security forces were among the dead in Kanchpur.

One witness who watched events unfold from a rooftop in central Dhaka said the demonstrators "were very aggressive, some people were throwing stones and the situation quickly become violent... the police had no option but to respond".

"Rioters vandalized markets and set fire to bookshops where the Holy Koran is sold. Thousands of Koran and religious books burned. They also attacked the ruling party's political office and national mosque," he told the BBC.

The bank employee, who asked not to named, said many people in Dhaka were angry about the violence, particularly as the city is still mourning the recent loss of more than 600 workers in a building collapse.

"I am Muslim and 90% of the population is Muslim too but the protesters do not represent our views," he said.

'Hang atheists'

On Sunday, crowds of protesters blocked main roads, isolating Dhaka from other parts of the country.

Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper reported that the group hired at least 3,000 vehicles, including buses, lorries and minibuses to bring demonstrators into the capital, while others travelled there by train.

Chanting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is greatest!") and "One point! One demand! Atheists must be hanged", the activists marched down at least six main roads as they headed for Motijheel, AFP news agency reported.

Continue reading the main story Hefazat-e Islam - a coalition of around a dozen Islamist organisations - is seeking to impose a stricter form of Islam on Bangladeshi society.

The movement, which draws its strength from the country's madrassas, or religious schools, has issued a 13-point charter of demands, including greater segregation of men and women.

Its opposition to a national development policy for women has angered women's groups.

The government, which describes Bangladesh as a secular democracy, has rejected Hefazat-e Islam's demand for a new law on blasphemy.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said current legislation was adequate.

Muslims make up nearly 90% of the country's population, with the rest mostly Hindus.

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Pope Compares Bangladesh Factory Workers To 'Slave Labor'

A man pours earth Wednesday onto a grave of one of the workers who died last week in the building collapse in Bangladesh.

Wong Maye-E/AP A man pours earth Wednesday onto a grave of one of the workers who died last week in the building collapse in Bangladesh.

Wong Maye-E/AP

Pope Francis has equated the wages paid to Bangladeshi workers who died in last week's building collapse to "slave labor."

More than 400 people were killed in the April 24 collapse of the Rana Plaza building outside Dhaka; the building housed several garment factories that made products for Western brands.

News reports say that workers at the factories housed in the building were paid about 38 euros a month (about $50).

"This was the payment of these people who have died," the pope said, according to Vatican Radio. "And this is called 'slave labor!' "

Francis' comments came at a Mass Wednesday to mark the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

"Not paying a just [wage], not providing work, focusing exclusively on the balance books, on financial statements, only looking at making personal profit. That goes against God!" the pope added, according to Vatican Radio.

As NPR's Jim Zarroli reported in March, Francis' "writings and public comments make clear his sympathies lie with the world's desperate and destitute. In the process, he has sometimes cast a suspicious eye on the institutions of capitalism, once branding the International Monetary Fund's debt policies 'immoral.' "

The pope's comments follow a meeting between major retailers and labor activists in Germany this week to work out a deal on improving working conditions in Bangladesh, where the garment sector is a $20 billion industry. NPR's Steve Henn reports on All Things Considered:

"At the meeting, activists pushed retailers who use factories in Bangladesh to start spending their own money to make those workplaces safer.

"The proposed deal would have an enforceable arbitration clause, would require the use of highly qualified fire and safety inspectors — and require those inspection reports to be made public. It would also mandate that the Western brands pay for any needed repairs. Workers would also have the right to refuse to enter buildings they believe are unsafe."

But as Steve notes in that story, some of the larger retailers such as Wal-Mart are still far away from making such commitments ahead of a May 15 deadline for a deal. (In a separate story for NPR's Morning Edition, Steve traces the social auditing industry, which began as a way to monitor the child sweatshop scandals of the 1990s.)

Improved working conditions in countries such as Bangladesh would likely mean higher price tags on many of the products we buy. How much more consumers are willing to pay for products made in places with fair working conditions is the subject of academic research, as NPR's Dan Bobkoff reported:

"Ian Robinson of the University of Michigan and his team ran an experiment at a suburban Detroit department store. They placed identical socks side by side on display. Some were labeled as coming from factories with good working conditions. Half of the customers noticed the choice and bought them. When the researchers started to raise the prices on the ethical socks, however, there were fewer takers.

" 'As soon as we introduced a small price difference, just 5 percent different, it dropped down to about 33 percent,' Robinson says.

"When prices were 20 percent or as much as 50 percent more than the regular socks, about a quarter of shoppers chose to pay more, 'at least in part motivated by ethical concerns,' he says."

Also Wednesday, hundreds of people attended a mass funeral for dozens of garment workers whose bodies could not be identified.

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