In Bangladesh Violent student protests against government job quotas caused widespread disruption to telecommunications links on Friday, taking television news channels off the air. These protests have led to the deaths of nearly two dozen people this week. Some analysts believe the demonstrations are also fueled by broader economic issues, including high inflation, rising unemployment, and decreasing foreign exchange reserves. Student anger over the controversial quotas initially sparked the protests.
Despite the widespread disruptions due to Bangladesh protests , the government did not provide any immediate comments on the severed communications. However, it did announce that police in Dhaka, the capital, had indefinitely banned all public meetings and processions. Reuters journalists reported that police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in certain areas of fresh violence, with both security forces and protesters occupying the streets of Dhaka. According to the English-language website of the Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo, protesters blocked roads in many locations and hurled bricks at security forces.
The violence on Thursday, which affected 47 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts, resulted in 27 deaths and 1,500 injuries, as reported by Prothom Alo. Reuters, which reported a death toll of 13, up from six earlier in the week, could not immediately verify the higher figures. India’s Economic Times newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government had to call in the army late on Thursday to help maintain order.
Moreover, the protests have reopened old and sensitive political fault lines between those who fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971 and those accused of collaborating with Islamabad. The ruling Awami League party, led by Hasina, includes many former independence fighters. Hasina has branded the protesters as “razakar,” a term used to describe collaborators during the independence era.