Bangladesh indefinitely closed all educational institutions on Wednesday following deadly clashes between students and police as campus protests against job quotas spread across the country….reports Asian Lite News
The Bangladesh government has deployed paramilitary forces following the deaths of at least six people during violent demonstrations by thousands of university students, raising concerns about potential instability in a nation accustomed to protests.
For weeks, students across Bangladesh have been protesting against quotas for government jobs.
Bangladesh indefinitely closed all educational institutions on Wednesday following deadly clashes between students and police as campus protests against job quotas spread across the country.
Students have been demonstrating since early July against the government’s quota system, which reserves 30 percent of public service jobs for families of those who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war. They demand a reform of the system for a fairer distribution of these well-paid jobs.
The protests turned violent on Sunday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina suggested that the demonstrators supported the “razakars,” or those who collaborated with the Pakistani military during the 1971 war. Students condemned this comparison, leading to larger rallies and clashes with members of the ruling Awami League’s youth wing and security forces.
As violence escalated and turned deadly on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh announced that all secondary educational institutions, universities, and medical colleges would remain closed “until further notice” for student safety.
Local media reported that at least six people, including four students, were killed and 400 injured in clashes in Dhaka, Chottogram, Rajshahi, and Rangpur. Protesters believe the actual numbers are higher.
“More than 1,000 of our protesters were injured during the clashes. Seven died, including one bystander. We held funeral prayers in absentia for our fellows who lost their lives,” Arab News quoted Mohammad Nahid Islam, coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination group in Dhaka, as saying.
He added, “Today, police attacked protesting students at the Dhaka University campus with a stun grenade and tear gas shells. Many of our female students became sick and injured. We are concerned about our security.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday advised Pakistani students in Bangladesh to take necessary precautions and stay away from student protests.
“Pakistan High Commission advises students to take all possible precautions for their safety and stay away from protests,” the High Commission said in a statement. “Campus residents have been advised to stay in their hostel rooms.”
On Wednesday morning, Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar also spoke to the Pakistani High Commissioner in Bangladesh, Ambassador Syed Maruf, to inquire about the welfare of Pakistanis in Bangladesh.
“Maruf informed the Deputy Prime Minister about the security situation and the steps taken by the High Commission to ensure the welfare of Pakistanis in Bangladesh,” the statement said. “The embassy has opened a helpline for the convenience of people in distress.”
Two days ago, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed disappointment with a US State Department statement, saying that it made “unsubstantiated claims of at least two deaths from the ongoing student protests in Bangladesh.”
“Use of unverified information to make such baseless claims can fuel violence and undermine Bangladesh government’s efforts to maintain a peaceful environment to allow non-violent protests or movement,” foreign ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said in a press conference on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
During a press briefing at the State Department in Washington on Monday, spokesperson Mathew Miller said the US was monitoring reports of widespread student protests that “have killed two and attacked and injured hundreds” in Dhaka and across Bangladesh.
Students in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country have been staging protests against a recruitment system for government jobs.
Local English newspaper The Daily Star reported that activists of the student body of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) party attacked quota protesters on Dhaka University campus Monday, triggering fierce clashes that left at least hundreds injured.
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