Shawdesh Desk:

Foreign minister Hasan Mahmud on Tuesday said that some international media outlets including Qatar-based Al Jazeera circulated false, distorted and fabricated reports on violence during the anti-quota student protests in Bangladesh.

He said that different quarters were also spreading rumours at home and abroad about the country’s developing situation as the government imposed curfew to protect lives of people and state property since mid-night past July 19 amid clashes erupted between members of the law enforcement agencies and protesters in Dhaka and other places.

‘We have already asked our ambassador in Qatar to inform the Al-Jazeera office that their local office was providing false, distorted and fabricated reports on violence in Bangladesh,’ Hasan said as his attention was drawn to the international media reports that more than 150 people were killed in the violence.

The minister was briefing reporters at his office on his ministry’s initiatives against ‘rumours’ at home and abroad in the present situation.

Asked about the exact figure of casualties during the violence, he said that the home ministry was still working on it.

Blaming main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami for the deadly violence during the anti-quota student protests, he said Bangladesh missions abroad were also alerted against the rumours and were also asked to inform Bangladeshi community there about the destructions of state properties including Bangladesh Television station, metro-rail stations and submarine cable and data centre during the violence.

‘Awami League activists, police members and general people were killed during the violence…Two journalists were killed and many of them were injured while they were performing the professional duties during the clashes,’ he said, adding that they did not have the total figure of deaths yet.

He, however, said that they would take foreign diplomats in Dhaka to the spots of destructions today so that they could see for themselves how the state properties were destroyed and set on fire during the street violence that began on July 18.

About the ‘indiscriminate firing’ at the protesters during the demonstrations, he said the law enforcers everywhere fired in self-defence and also to protect lives of people and state property.

‘We see attackers are shot dead by law enforcement agency members in the cities of the United States and Paris. Police everywhere do the same,’ he added.

Asked for his comment about the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks on social media about violence against protesting students, Hasan said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had communicated with the Indian government through diplomatic channel, noting that Mamata Banerjee’s remarks on social media could create confusion among people.

Hasan said that the foreign ministry has sent a diplomatic note to the Indian government in this regard.

Expressing optimism over return of normalcy in the country soon, the foreign minister said the current situation does not warrant foreign mission officials to leave Bangladesh.

‘The situation will get back to normalcy within a couple of days. No situation is prevailing in the country that they (foreigners) need to leave Bangladesh,’ he told reporters while responding to a question.