DHAKA (TIP): For the first time, the Bangladesh government on July 29 officially acknowledged that 150 people were killed across the country during the students’ unrest over the quota system.
Violence gripped Bangladesh recently and the government called in the army to quell protests against job quotas.
The protests, which started in universities and colleges earlier this month, quickly turned into a more widespread agitation against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government.
The unrest has left several thousand people, including policemen, wounded and major government installations damaged.
“The government has decided that a nationwide mourning will be observed tomorrow…People have been urged to wear black badges to mourn the deaths (during the violence),” Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain told a media briefing after a meeting chaired by Hasina at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
He said mosques, temples, pagodas and churches across the country were also urged to offer prayers for the departed souls and the wounded people.
The top bureaucrat said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal presented a report at the meeting about the overall situation and confirmed 150 deaths in clashes across the country.
The announcement came on a day when the military and paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of the capital Dhaka while police in riot gear enforced a strict vigil as a faction of the protesting students overnight called a new round of protests.
The group called the new protest after six of their coordinators announced the withdrawal of the demonstrations, which the protestors said was obtained under duress in police custody.
The six student leaders in an appearance before the media overnight announced the withdrawal of the street demonstrations as their demand for reforms in the quota system was met by the government following a Supreme Court order.
“We have mobilised forces to prevent fresh violence,” a police official said.
Witnesses and live TV footage showed the security forces guarding major points in the capital with military and police armoured personnel carriers patrolling the streets alongside the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh.
The protests subsided after the apex Appellate Division of unitary Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on July 21 ordered a massive quota reform, keeping only seven per cent of reserve posts instead of the existing 56 per cent.
The government subsequently issued a Gazette notification in line with the order saying 93 per cent of jobs would be open to candidates on merit.
“Our main demand for logical reforms to the government job quota system has been met,” student coordinator Nahid Islam on Sunday said in a video message, calling for educational institutions to re-open. (PTI)
150 people killed in student unrest, says Bangladesh govt; announces nationwide mourning
