Bangladesh opposition rallies over fuel crisis and cancelled referendum
Hundreds of opposition supporters marched through Dhaka on Saturday to protest against a cancelled referendum, rising gas prices and the government’s handling of Bangladesh’s worsening fuel crisis.
Footage from Viory showed demonstrators carrying placards and banners as they rallied outside Baitul Mukarram Mosque, demanding implementation of the “July Charter”.
Protesters accused the government of failing to manage the energy shortage and blamed both weak regulation and poor diplomacy for the disruption in fuel supplies. Some said the crisis had been worsened by conflict-linked disruption to routes from the Middle East, a key source of Bangladesh’s energy imports.
Others said the authorities were downplaying the severity of the shortage, pointing to long queues at petrol stations as evidence of growing public hardship.
The protest, led by Jamaat-e-Islami and an 11-party opposition alliance, comes as wider instability in global energy markets adds pressure on fuel-dependent economies.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
