The government was hell bent on preventing the opposition rally. Trains, buses and launches were all stopped. Ordinary passengers were beaten up and prevented from off loading at stations and ferrys. The police were out in full force in the city, checking on people to make sure they were not opposition supporters heading for the rally.

None of this worked of coursed and massive crowds still made their way to the rally at Paltan. The crowd was still there when I left the rally just after six. On the way up, I had interviewed some of the people gathering for the rally. Tellingly, most of the people I asked had voted for the Awami League in the last elections and had become completely disillusioned by the government. I wonder if Hasina still has some people in her party, who can tell her what is going on, but she is probably so completely surrounded by sycophants that none of this might ever filter through.

 

Sadly, the day ended with over a hundred people being killed in the launch disaster. While the nation was in mourning and the callous attitude of the transport ministry was being severely criticised, the Awami League brought out a celebratory party, as a show of strength. The survivors of the victims might not appreciate the irony.
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