Thousands of garment workers took to the streets of Bangladesh Friday demanding justice two days after nearly 300 people died when a building housing several garment factories collapsed. "Many of the factories were shut after some of the units were attacked during the workers' demonstration," Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association,told dpa by telephone. "We have suspended operation of three factories in Gazipur, fearing labour unrest," said Nasir Uddin Mia, chief executive of One Denim in Gazipur, 50 kilometres north of the capital. The demonstrators blocked a highway in Gazipur with burning tyres, demanding that the owners of the collapsed building and of the factories be brought to justice. Cracks appeared in the building the day before the accident, prompting authorities to evacuate the building, but workers were sent back in the following day against official advice, reports said. At the flattened building in Savar, 25 kilometres north-east ofDhaka, police fired bullets and tear gas to keep the mob from breaking into the site of the accident. Television footage showed protestors chanting next to bodies of the victims lined up in a school playground, demanding that those responsible be hanged. The situation was later brought under control, said Siddiqul Alam Sikder, an army officer supervising the rescue operation.
