Bangladesh Of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid has labeled those opposing the quota system as ‘Pakistani agents’ for the next generation of ‘freedom fighters’ in jobs.
The students of the universities are protesting in reaction to this statement of the Prime Minister.
According to Bangla’s English news website The Star, on Sunday evening, Hasina Wajid said in response to a question asked during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s House that why there is so much anger once morest the ‘war of freedom’ and ‘those who fight for freedom’. Is?
“If the grandchildren of ‘freedom fighters’ in 1971 are not given quota in government jobs, should they be given to the grandchildren of those volunteers who supported Pakistan?”
A few hours following this statement, protests started in Dhaka University which spread to other major educational institutions of the country.
According to the French news agency (AFP), the students calling the Prime Minister’s statement “humiliating” demand that they want reforms in the quota system so that talented students can get fair opportunities.
At least 100 people were injured in clashes on Monday between students who oppose a controversial quota in government jobs in Bangladesh and those who support the ruling Awami League.
According to AFP, police and witnesses say that hundreds of anti-quota protesters and pro-Awami League students clashed for hours on the Dhaka University campus, throwing stones, hitting each other with sticks and iron bars. was beaten
Witnesses said some of them had knives while others threw petrol bombs.
Under the quota system, more than half of the civil service posts are reserved for certain groups, including the children of the ‘heroes’ of the 1971 ‘war of independence’ from Pakistan.
“Both groups attacked each other with sticks and threw stones at each other,” local police station official Mustatjaur Rahman told AFP.
Another police inspector, Masood Mian, said that ‘regarding 100 students, including women’, have been injured and have been taken to hospital while more injured are being brought.
Students started protesting earlier this month demanding a merit-based system. Despite the Supreme Court of Bangladesh suspending the quota scheme, they continue to protest.
On the other hand, the anti-quota protestors have blamed the pro-ruling party students for the violence.
“They attacked our peaceful procession with rods, sticks and stones,” Naheed Islam, national coordinator of the anti-quota protests, told AFP. They beat up our women protestors. At least 150 students, including 30 women, were injured and 20 students are in critical condition.
Critics say the system will benefit children of pro-government political groups who support Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina Wajid, 76, won a fourth consecutive general election in January that was voted without real opposition parties and saw a massive crackdown on her political opponents who boycotted the polls. was
Shahinur, a 26-year-old student who was injured, said that there was a sudden attack on the protestors.
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He said from his bed in Dhaka Medical Hospital that ‘We were taking out our procession peacefully. Suddenly, the Chhatra League (the student wing of the ruling party) attacked us with sticks, pellets, iron rods and bricks.’
Hundreds of students from several private universities took part in protests in Dhaka, chanting slogans once morest the quota system, which led to a traffic standstill near the US embassy for more than four hours, police said.
Deputy Police Commissioner Hasan-ul-Zaman told AFP that regarding 200 students are protesting by staging a sit-in on the streets.
Thousands of students also marched in dozens of universities from Sunday night to Monday morning once morest Hasina Wajid’s ‘humiliating statements’.
The protesters said they were being compared to Pakistani army sympathizers during Bangladesh’s ‘war of independence’.
“This is unacceptable,” said a Dhaka University student on condition of anonymity. We want reforms in the quota system so that bright students get a fair chance.’
According to anti-quota protesters, there was also violence during protests in Bangladesh’s second city, Chittagong, on Sunday night.
Khan Talat Mehmood Rafi, who led the protest in Chittagong, said two fellow protesters were injured.
“Dozens of Chhatar League workers attacked one of our processions,” he said. The students are demanding that only the quotas for ethnic minorities and disabled people remain and are six percent of the total jobs.
Bangladesh was among the poorest countries in the world at the time of independence in 1971, but since 2009 has been growing at an average rate of more than six percent per year.
But much of this growth has been driven by a largely female workforce working in factories that are associated with the garment export industry. Economists say there is a serious job crisis for millions of university students.
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2024-07-16 23:08:41
