Dhaka, July 23 (EFE).- An uneasy calm prevailed in Bangladesh on Tuesday even as the country reeled under a strict curfew by government to break a vicious cycle of violence that killed 130 in clashes between protesting students and security forces.
After protesters called for a 48-hour truce, an eerie silence engulfed the streets of Dhaka, which had witnessed bloody chaos last week during the peak of agitation against the government’s now-revoked job quota scheme favoring relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence.
While there have been no fresh protests or violence, the army remains deployed preventively, and the restrictions continue to bar people from leaving their homes. The government relaxed these restrictions for four hours on Tuesday, allowing people to buy essentials.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met with several business leaders on Monday, who urged her to reopen factories and resume internet services, which were suspended on July 18 along with mobile and fixed telephone services.
The government has ordered offices and schools to shut down, allowing only emergency services, as the country plunged into crisis last week when student protests turned violent.
The students demanded changes to the employment quota system after the new policy allocated one-third of government jobs to the families of freedom fighters.
Protesters argue that the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of the ruling Awami League, while the government defends it as a way to honor war veterans.
The protests escalated on July 15, with the first deaths reported the following day. Communications were suspended on Thursday night, just before what became the deadliest day of the unrest, with 44 deaths reported on Friday, according to hospital sources, bringing the overall death toll to nearly 130.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected the demands, calling protesters “razakar,” a political slur referring to traitors of the independence movement. Her remarks further fueled the unrest.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court watered down the quota system, allowing 93 percent of jobs to be available for the general merit category, with only 5 percent reserved for relatives of freedom fighters.
This change addresses the main demand of the students, who have now halted the agitation for 48 hours from Monday. EFE
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