Clashes between protesting students and security forces have continued to escalate in Bangladesh. As an AFP reporter reported, police in the capital Dhaka fired on protesters on Saturday, wounding at least one person.
The demonstration took place despite a curfew that had been in effect since midnight, and the government also sent the military onto the streets.
At least 115 people have been killed in the protests so far, according to an AFP tally. The number of casualties has not been officially confirmed. According to the US embassy in Bangladesh, hundreds to thousands have been injured. Several hospitals reported that significantly more people have died from gunshot wounds since Thursday.
Given the situation in the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has cancelled her planned foreign trips to Spain and Brazil, according to a spokesperson.
Police said students stormed a prison in Narsingdi in the central part of the country on Friday, likely freeing hundreds of inmates. The protesters then set fire to the prison.
The government is cutting back on communication channels
The government had already imposed an internet shutdown on Thursday, making communication in the country difficult. The country’s largest publishers can no longer update their news portals. The state broadcaster has been unable to broadcast since protesters set fire to its headquarters in Dhaka on Thursday. The government had largely cut off internet, phone and text messaging services.
Quota system under criticism
Students in Bangladesh have been protesting almost daily for weeks against a government quota system that has reserved more than half of well-paid public sector jobs for certain groups. The students are demanding a performance-based system instead of quotas for allocating attractive jobs. Unemployment and inflation are high in the country of more than 170 million people. On Thursday, the government said it was prepared to reform regulations and hold talks.
Critics say the quotas favour supporters of the government of 76-year-old Hasina, who won a fourth term in January in an unopposed election. She is accused of abusing state institutions to consolidate her power. The government, in turn, accuses a section of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of inciting violence during the protests. Police arrested senior opposition politician Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday afternoon.
Source: Krone
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