Bangladesh mourns 200 dead in protests

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh observed a day of mourning Tuesday in memory of the more than 200 people killed in recent weeks in violence stemming from student protests over a government job quota system in the South Asian country.

After weeks of peaceful marches by students seeking to change the system — which reserved 30 percent of public sector jobs for relatives of veterans and people who were raped during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan — violence erupted on July 15 when activists from the student wing of the ruling party attacked protesters.

Security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to quell the violence.

The protests were the biggest challenge to Bangladesh’s government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January elections boycotted by main opposition groups.

The ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party often accuse each other of fuelling political chaos and violence, most recently in national elections marked by a crackdown on opposition leaders.

Senior government officials wore black plaques on Tuesday in memory of those killed, as the country slowly returns to normal and a strict curfew is relaxed.

Authorities have asked all mosques, temples and other religious buildings to hold special prayers for the dead.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan gave the death toll as high as 150, but the country’s main Bengali-language daily, Prothom Alo, said 211 had been killed since July 16. Thousands more were wounded.

Media reports estimated that some 10,000 people have been arrested in the past two weeks in connection with the riots, protests and other attacks on state property.

Human rights groups have called for an end to arbitrary arrests and critics have accused the government of using excessive force to quell clashes. The government has defended its position and says arrests are made on specific charges.

Protesters said the 30% quota was discriminatory and benefited supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League led the independence movement, and demanded it be replaced by a merit-based system.

The Supreme Court on July 21 ordered the veterans’ quota to be lowered to 5%.

Ninety-three percent of public jobs would be awarded on merit, with the remaining 2 percent going to members of ethnic minorities, transgender people and the disabled. Two days later, the government accepted the ruling and promised to implement it.— Los Angeles Times

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