More protests were taking place in Bangladesh on Friday, August 2, against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government to demand justice for more than 200 people killed in last month's violent demonstrations despite reforms announced in the job quota system that prompted weeks of protests.
Over 2,000 protesters gathered in parts of the capital Dhaka, some shouting "down with the autocrat" and chanting justice for the victims as police officers circled around them. Police clashed with dozens of students in Dhaka's Uttara neighborhood while security officials fired teargas and stun grenades to disperse the stone-throwing protesters. It marked the latest round of demonstrations against Hasina, whose government has been roiled by student protests that show no immediate signs of dying down yet.
Since the violence erupted on July 15, protests have become a major crisis for the 76-year-old, who retained power for a fourth consecutive term in January amid an election boycotted by her main opponents, making the result a near certainty even before votes were counted. Authorities shut off the internet and enforced a shoot-on-sight curfew to tackle violent demonstrations. Schools and universities remain closed.
Deaths of protesters shook Bangladesh, as videos on social media showed violent clashes between security forces and students, with officers firing bullets and tear gas shells. In one incident, a 6-year-old girl was shot while playing on a rooftop as her father attempted to shield her from the firing.
It began with students, frustrated by shortages of good jobs, demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs that they argued was discriminatory. Under it, 30% of such jobs were reserved for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan in 1971. They said it benefited supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and wanted it replaced with a merit-based system. In response, the Supreme Court scaled back the veterans’ quota down to 5%. But the anger and protests have continued to fester.
The violence, for the most part, has subsided now and normalcy is slowly returning to the country. The curfew has been relaxed, the internet has been restored and banks and offices have opened their doors. But the turmoil has continued to swirl around Hasina, drawing international outcry from the United Nations and the United States.
Still, Hasina resorted to blaming the two main opposition parties – which backed the students – of fueling the violence. Her government banned one of them, the Jamaat-e-Islami; its student wing; and other associate bodies on Thursday, which could again escalate tensions.