Bangladesh: Victory of Kansat Peasants’ Struggle

5-08-06, 9:11 am





The peasants of Kansat have proved that if people unite to struggle for a just cause and struggle undaunting for the cause, they are ultimately crowned with victory.

The peasants of Kansat under Chapai Nawabganj district started their struggle almost a year ago against the irregularities and corruption of REB (Rural Electrification Board) and its undemocratic and coercive activities. It was a peasant movement that eventually involved all other section of the people of the entire region.

The people of Kansat came out into the streets and highways to fight for their demands. Police fired on them on two occasions on January and 14 people were killed. The third attack occurred on April 6 and this time police firing extinguished the precious lives of 6 Kansat peasants. In the name of door-to-door search, the police broke all previous records of brutality. Local residents were stunned to experience brutal attacks which were according to the most people, more terrible than Pakistani military oppression in 1971.

The struggle started in August of 2005 with a 6-point charter of demand, which eventually became 14-point demand.

The struggle turned into a mass revolt when 13 peasants were killed in police firing in January. The struggle sparked the nation to unite the rural people to ignite the struggle against REB and for adequate supply of electricity in their respective areas. Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) were at the side of struggling peasants of Kansat from the very beginning. Bangladesh Krishak Samity also played a significant role in uniting the people of the whole region around Kansat. CPB has also called for a nationwide Hartal on March 2 and April 20 in support of the just struggle of Kansat people. Both programs were successful. CPB called upon the people to start struggles following the Kansat-model and mighty struggles flared up all over the country. CPB units brought out processions and organized public meetings all over the country. The Party also sent several teams to visit Kansat and to meet the people and the leaders and to express CPB’s solidarity with their on-going struggle.

On April 16, CPB has organized ‘Kansat Solidarity Day’ all over the country, where leading intellectuals and politicians have expressed their solidarity with struggling Kansat peasants. Bangladesh Students Union organized a successful a daylong strike in Dhaka University on April 15 in protest against brutal killings of Kansat peasants.

Ultimately, the government had to surrender to peasants’-power and the glorious struggle of the peasants of Kansat. On April 17, they declared that it has accepted the demands and will implement them. It of course remains to be seen whether the government goes by its assurance and fully implements all the demands. Call has been given to remain vigilant. The people of Kansat have nevertheless, already added another glorious milestone in history of the heroic struggles of the people of Bangladesh.

Nation Observes Hartal On April 20

The people have shown their wholehearted support for the dawn-to-dusk nationwide hartal on April 20, which was called by CPB and other political parties. The hartal was called in protest against Kansat peasant killings, price spirals of essentials and in demands for ensuring adequate supply of electricity-diesel-fertilizer-seeds and all essential agricultural inputs. Other demands of the hartal included immediate trial of all Kansat killings, fulfill 14-point and 5-point charter of demands of the struggling peasants of Kansat, resolve nationwide electricity crisis, reduce prices of essentials, overthrow misrule-communalism-imperialism.

CPB and other left political activists brought out several processions through out the day in the streets of Dhaka raising slogans in support of the demands by ignoring most of the obstruction of the undemocratic security force.

Most of the shops, markets, malls, offices and courts were closed during the hartal hours. Only a few transports were on the streets. There were no regular activities in the offices. No inter-district transportations left any terminals of Dhaka. The security personnel were very aggressive on the pro-hartal activists. The police attacked picketers in several places of the country. The police baton charged and arrested at least 25 progressive activists. The security personnel kept CPB central office under seize all day long. The police obstructed CPB processions several times in the day.

The hartal was also observed successfully all over the country, including Gaibandha, Mymensingh, Faridpur, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Moulavibazar and Jessore, and all other big and small cities and upazillas.

From the News Bulletin of the Communist Party of Bangladesh