The police at the National Press Club on Tuesday stopped a march of the national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports headed for the energy ministry when about 10 activists were injured and anthropologist Rehnuma Ahmed
sustained an injury in the head during police action.
The national committee earlier announced to lay siege to the energy ministry in protest at the Awami League-led government's plan to lease out two offshore gas blocks to US oil company ConocoPhillips by way of the model production sharing contract 2008 and as part of its programme to observe Magurchhara Day.
The police stopped the march in the Press Club crossing where marchers sat in and held a rally.
The committee's convener Sheikh Muhammad Shaheedullah at the rally said that the government would on June 16 sign a deal with ConocoPhillips for the extraction of gas in offshore block 10 and 11.
The national committee will hold countrywide black flag processions on the day the deal would be signed and hold a black flag rally in front of the Press Club, Shaheedullah said.
He also called on the people to hoist black flags in houses on the day across the country and the national committee would announce agitation programmes, including general strike and a march towards Dhaka in October, if the government does not drop its plan to lease out the offshore gas blocks.
Before setting out Tuesday's march, the national committee held a rally in front of the National Press Club where the committee's member secretary Anu Muhammad said that
the deal with ConocoPhillips was against national interest.
ConocoPhillips will get 80 per cent of the gas extracted with the permission to export it and Bangladesh will get the remaining 20 per cent, according to the production sharing contract.
'We will lose the ownership of the gas extracted if the deal is signed. We call on the government not to sign the unequal deal,' Anu said.
The energy ministry has now turned into the 'Kasimbazar palace' (where Mir Jafar hatched plots against Nawab Sirajuddaula) where conspiracies are hatched against the power sector, he said.
Committee leaders Syed Abul Maksud, Akmal Hossain, Enamul Haque, Tipu Biswas, Nurur Rahman Selim, Saiful Huq, Ruhin Hossain Prince, Bazlur Rashid Firoz, Ragib Ahsan Munna, Mushrefa Mishu, Zonayed Saki, Subal Sarker and others took part in the programme.
The procession, which followed the rally, was later stopped by the police at the Press Club.
Several hundred left-leaning political party activists, holding banners and festoons, took part in the programme.
Source: New Age
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