Bangladesh Student Protests Turn Deadly, Leaving Dozens Dead

Protests have erupted in Bangladesh, demanding a fairer government job recruitment system.

Violence has erupted in Bangladesh, with student protests demanding reforms to the government’s public sector job recruitment system. The protests, which began in early July, have reportedly resulted in the deaths of around 40 people and injuries to hundreds more.

Tensions escalated on Monday, when protesters clashed with police and pro-government activists at Dhaka University. In response, the government shut down all public and private universities on Wednesday and deployed riot police and paramilitary forces to campuses. On Thursday, thousands of protesters stormed the office of the state broadcaster BTV and set fire to the building.

The protests are the largest since Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was re-elected for a fifth term earlier this year. Hasina had called for peace on the state broadcaster the day before the attack.

The exact number of deaths is unclear. Anadolu reported 39 people dead on Friday, citing police sources. AFP and Al Jazeera report the number at 32, while Reuters reported 13 deaths from Thursday’s clashes, adding to six earlier deaths this week.

According to Bangladeshi newspaper the Daily Prothom Alo, 27 people have died and more than 1,500 injured. The outlet reported fresh clashes between protesters and police in various parts of the capital on Friday. Police reportedly fired stun grenades, tear gas shells, and rubber bullets.

The websites of other major Bangladeshi newspapers have either been inaccessible or have not been updated since Thursday. Television news channels were off air on Friday morning and telecommunications were severely disrupted.

The government has ordered a nationwide shutdown of its mobile internet network. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the junior telecommunications minister, told AFP that this was necessary to “ensure the security of citizens.” Residents of Dhaka who spoke to RT via online messengers on Thursday night reported that some ISP-based Wi-Fi networks were still available while mobile internet was cut off throughout the city.

Protesters have demanded that the government abolish the special quotas allowing descendants of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan to receive government jobs. They have instead called for a merit-based recruitment system. Currently, 30% of government jobs are reserved for veterans’ families.

The quota system was scrapped in 2018, but reinstated by the High Court in June this year, which ruled that its removal was unconstitutional. On July 10, the Supreme Court suspended the quotas and the case is pending. Hasina has urged demonstrators to trust the Supreme Court’s decision.

Activists claim that the system is discriminatory and favors allies of the ruling Awami League party, which led the independence movement. Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the independence movement and the “founding father” of the country. He was assassinated in 1975 with most of his family by a group of army officials.