Bangladesh is still under curfew and there is a complete blackout on communications. This is one day after the Supreme Court reduced the scope of a contentious job quota system in response to violent clashes that have claimed over 179 lives in the last week.
University students have been demonstrating since the beginning of this month to demand a reformation of the quota system that reserved 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war.
The peaceful protests turned violent last week, with clashes between student protesters and security forces killing 179 people and injuring thousands, according to a count by Bengali daily Prothom Alo, which reported over a dozen deaths on Sunday alone.
Bangladesh was still under curfew for a third day on Monday, with military personnel patrolling the capital and other areas. At the same time, internet connection remained suspended across the country since it was disrupted on Thursday night.
“We hope that in the next 48 hours, the situation will take a better look, and the country will go for normal operations. We are expecting to restore the broadband Internet services tonight (Monday). As soon as the situation takes a normal look, the length of curfew hours will be eased.”
On Sunday, the Supreme Court ordered for the quota reserved for relatives of veterans to be cut to 5 percent and for 93 percent of jobs to be allocated on merit, while the remaining 2 percent will be reserved for members of ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
Bangladesh’s top court was ruling on an appeal. The government had abolished the quotas following student protests in 2018 but they were reinstated by the High Court in June, setting off a fresh round of demonstrations.
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