Bangladesh’s top court lowers government jobs quota in response to deadly unrest
PBS NewsHourJUL 14 2024
Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Sunday scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs after student protests turned deadly and killed at least 151 people across the country in the past week.
Nullifying a lower court's decision that had reinstated 30% reservation in government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters who fought in the country's 1971 War of Independence, the top court ruled that only 5% of the roles can be reserved for veterans' kin.
In addition, the court directed that 93% of government jobs will be open to candidates on merit, while the remaining 2% will be reserved for people from ethnic minorities or with disabilities.
The Supreme Court verdict vindicates Bangladesh's student protestors who have been insisting that Hasina's quota system unfairly benefitted her political supporters. However, the ruling doesn't mean the end of the protests. Students want justice for the lives lost and accountability for the peaceful demonstrations turning violent. Until Hasina apologizes for the weeks-long violence and repression and passes a quota reform bill through parliament, the movement will continue.
The ruling is prudent and will be implemented within days. However, the protesters' fresh demands are unreasonable, politically motivated, and intended to keep the government hostage forever. The opposition-backed students torched government buildings, police check posts, and the capital's railway network. If the government is forced to apologize for intervening to end the violence, the anarchists should also be held accountable for vandalizing public properties and bringing the country to a complete halt.