Bangladesh burned and bled Thursday, with dozens killed in clashes between the security forces, pro -government groups and student demonstrators, and buildings have shown by agitators – the deadliest civil disorders in the country for more than a decade.
Hospital authorities have confirmed in Benarnews that 19 people had been killed and hundreds of others injured Thursday, the most violent day of a week in which seven people have already lost their lives. Agency France-Press reported a higher assessment of 25 deaths.
Apart from those in the street, the whole country closed on Thursday, after students in favor of the end of quotas for government jobs called for such a closure to protest against what they alleged were not caused police attacks and members of the Awami league student in power.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on the crowd, hospital sources confirming such injuries. In the midst of clashes, unidentified people set fire to several buildings, including the state diffuser, police stations and a station.
Fire services officials reported at least 25 criminal fire incidents in government construction complexes across the country for two days, Dacca being the worst blow.
Thursday’s violence has cost two journalists and more than 100 media members’ lives was injured across the country, a group called Dhaka Reporters Unity said in a statement.
Hasan Mehedi, 25, journalist of the Dhaka Times online news site, was killed when a ball hit the head on Thursday evening, Benarnews, the editor of the site, Arifur Rahman Dolon told Benarnews.
The second victim of the press was the correspondent for the Daily Bhorers Awaj, Shakil Hossain, a press release from the group of journalists.
Netblocks, a group following Internet connectivity and democracy, said that Bangladesh saw an “almost total closure of the Internet” on Thursday evening.
“”[T]The new measure follows previous efforts to strangle social media and restrict mobile data services, and comes in the midst of reports on deaths during student demonstrations, “said Netblocks in an article on X.
The authorities have temporarily interrupted mobile internet services due to the unstable situation created by the demonstrations, said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technologies on Thursday.
The country’s university students began to protest in early July after the High Court reinforced a quota last month which reserved 30% of public service jobs for parents of those who fought in the 1971 war which led to the independence of Bangladesh.
Reintegration occurred at a time when the Bangladesh economy is in the slump and the job possibilities are rare.
At least 400,000 students graduate from Bangladesh universities each year. And according to official data from 2023, 39% of 15 to 24 years, or 12.2 million young people, are unemployed and not at school or university.
Students allege that quotas are discriminatory and promote those who support the administration of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party.
On July 11, an order from the Supreme Court suspended these quotas for a month. But that did not appease the Protestant students. Such a decision, she said, must be made by the government.
But what really made the students furious was when Hasina compared to those against quotas for the families of veterans to people who collaborated with Pakistan during the Bangladesh independence war.
After violence earlier in the week won seven lives, Hasina addressed the nation on Wednesday, saying that the Superior Court was dealt with with the question of the quota and that the Bangladesh “would not be disappointed”.
She urged patience and accused groups with acquired interests of swinging anger.
‘A new farce’
After a meeting with Hasina earlier during the day, the minister of Law, Anisul Huq, proposed Thursday afternoon to speak with Protestant students in order to suspend their agitation.
“The government has in principle agreed to reform the quota system.
He also offered to spend a supreme court hearing on the quota policy scheduled for August 7 on Sunday.
The demonstrators rejected this offer, saying that the government had to face the consequences of an assault not caused against them.
“By using violence against a peaceful movement, the government has created an unprecedented situation. It is the responsibility of the government,” said Nahid Islam, one of the movement’s coordinators, in an article on Facebook.
Quota reform will not be sufficient to resolve the crisis now, he wrote.
“At the beginning, using the judiciary, the government did not take into account the demand, and the police and the party executives tried to suppress the movement,” he said.
“”[N]Ow a new farce is played in the name of the address [our] requirements and in the name of dialogue. »»
Benarnews is an online press organization affiliated with the FRG.