Bangladesh Police Break Up Protest Over Conference
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DHAKA, Bangladesh — Police used tear gas and steel-tipped truncheons Friday to break up students protesting an Islamic conference in the northern town of Bogra, and at least 30 people were injured, news reports said.
The protesters were demonstrating against controversial Muslim leader Maulana Belwar Hossain Saidi, who was due to speak at the conference at Bogra, 100 miles north of Dhaka, according to the independent United News of Bangladesh.
The protesters complain that Saidi opposed the 1971 war in which Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan. Saidi, a central leader of Muslim fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, denied the charge.
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