AP and AFP

The newspaper La Jornada
Monday, July 22, 2024, p. 28

Dhaka. Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Monday scaled back a controversial quota system for applicants for public jobs, a partial victory for student protesters after days of nationwide demonstrations and clashes between police and demonstrators that have left dozens dead.

Students frustrated by a lack of good jobs have demanded an end to a system that reserved 30 percent of public sector jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in the country’s 1971 war of independence. The government suspended the rule in 2018 following mass student protests, but the Supreme Court reinstated it in June, sparking a new round of protests.

On appeal, the Supreme Court ordered the veterans’ quota to be reduced to 5 percent, with 93 percent of public jobs allocated on merit. The remaining 2 percent will be reserved for members of ethnic minorities and disabled and transgender people.

The protests pose the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since she won a fourth consecutive term in office in January elections that were boycotted by main opposition groups. Universities have closed, internet connections have been cut and the government has ordered people to stay at home.

However, the main opposition group, called Students Against Discrimination, said the protests would not stop. until the government makes a decision that takes into account our demands.

Police arrested several members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition party, as well as the student group.

It’s no longer about student rightssaid businessman Hasibul Sheikh, 24. Our demand now is one point and it is the resignation of the government..

The protests turned violent on Tuesday, a day after students at Dhaka University began clashing with police. The violence continued to escalate, with police using tear gas and rubber bullets as well as smoke grenades to disperse stone-throwing protesters.

Bangladeshi authorities have not given any official death toll or injury toll, but at least four local newspapers reported more than 100 deaths.

Soldiers patrolled cities across the country ahead of the court session. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the curfew would be eased from 3pm to 5pm yesterday to allow people to carry out essential activities.

The government declared yesterday and today as holidays during which only emergency services would be allowed to operate.