by Opinion Express / 20 July 2024
Bangladesh imposed a curfew and deployed military forces after police failed to quell days of deadly unrest that have claimed at least 105 lives, according to AFP-reported hospital counts. The clashes between student demonstrators and police present a significant challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government after 15 years in power.
Hasina's press secretary, Nayeemul Islam Khan, announced the curfew and military deployment, stating that the curfew would take immediate effect. In Dhaka, police banned all public gatherings to prevent further violence, but confrontations continued despite an internet shutdown aimed at disrupting rally organization.
Protester Sarwar Tushar, injured during a march, vowed to continue the protests, demanding Hasina's resignation and holding the government accountable for the deaths. In Narsingdi, student protesters stormed a jail, freeing inmates and setting the facility on fire.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital reported 52 deaths in the capital on Friday, with police fire causing more than half of this week's fatalities, according to hospital staff descriptions. UN human rights chief Volker Turk condemned the attacks on student protesters as "shocking and unacceptable," calling for impartial investigations and accountability.
The protests have targeted a quota system that reserves over half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the 1971 liberation war. Critics argue the system favors pro-government groups backing Hasina, who has ruled since 2009 and won a fourth consecutive term in January's unopposed election.
Rights groups accuse Hasina's government of misusing state institutions to entrench power and silence dissent, including extrajudicial killings of opposition activists. Schools and universities have been closed indefinitely as police efforts to control the situation intensified.
"This is an eruption of simmering discontent built over years," said Ali Riaz, a politics professor at Illinois State University. The job quotas symbolize a system perceived as rigged against the youth. NetBlocks reported a "nation-scale" internet shutdown, with connectivity plummeting to 10% of normal levels, hindering news flow and raising safety concerns.