Bangladesh Supreme Court cuts government jobs quota after deadly unrest that claims dozens of lives

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Sunday rolled back a controversial quota system for applicants for government jobs, a partial victory for student protesters after days of nationwide unrest and deadly clashes between police and demonstrators that left dozens dead.

Students, frustrated by a lack of good jobs, are demanding an end to a quota that reserved 30% of government jobs for families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. The government had already ended the quota in 2018 following mass student protests, but in June the Bangladesh Supreme Court reinstated the quota, sparking a fresh round of protests.

In an appeals ruling, the Supreme Court ordered that the veterans quota be reduced to 5%, with 93% of jobs being allocated on the basis of merit. The remaining 2% would be reserved for members of ethnic minorities, transgender people and people with disabilities.

The protests are the biggest challenge to Bangladesh’s government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January elections boycotted by major opposition groups. Universities have been closed, the internet cut off and the government has ordered people to stay home.

Since most communications were offline, it was unclear whether the verdict satisfied the protesting students. There was also no immediate response from the government.

The protests turned deadly on Tuesday, a day after students at Dhaka University clashed with police. Violence escalated further as police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and threw smoke grenades to disperse stone-throwing protesters.

Bangladeshi authorities have not released official figures on the number of dead and injured, but at least four local newspapers reported on Sunday that more than 100 people had died.

An Associated Press reporter on Friday watched as security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd of more than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the headquarters of state-run Bangladesh Television, which had been attacked and set ablaze by demonstrators the day before. The incident left streets littered with bullets and scarred with blood.

Sporadic fighting was reported in some parts of the capital Dhaka on Saturday, but it was not immediately clear if there were any deaths.

Soldiers patrolled cities in the South Asian country ahead of the Supreme Court hearing. Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said stay-at-home orders from 3pm to 5pm on Sunday would be relaxed to allow people to buy essential groceries.

Meanwhile, the government has declared Sunday and Monday as national holidays, during which only emergency services will be allowed to operate.

Protesters argue that the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and say it should be replaced with a merit-based system. Hasina has defended the quota system, saying veterans deserve the highest respect for their contributions in the war against Pakistan, regardless of their political affiliation.

Representatives from both sides met late on Friday night to try to reach a solution and Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government was open to discussing their demands. Besides quota reform, the demands also include the reopening of university dormitories and the resignation of some university officials after they failed to protect campuses.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has backed the protests and vowed to organize its own demonstrations, as many of its supporters have joined the student-led protests. However, the BNP said in a statement that its supporters were not responsible for the violence and denied the ruling party’s accusations that it was using the protests for political ends.

The Awami League and the BNP have often accused each other of fomenting political chaos and violence, most recently in the run-up to the country’s national elections, which were marred by a crackdown on several opposition figures. Hasina’s government had accused the opposition party of trying to disrupt the vote.

Saaliq reported from New Delhi, India.