How Mass Protests Challenge Bangladesh’s Past—and Threaten to Rewrite Its Future
TimeJUL 14 2024
Demonstrators hit the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh Wednesday to protest the deaths and detaiment of others who protested civil service hiring quotas earlier this month. Over 200 people have been killed an almost 10k arrested as protesters have clashed with police.
The death tole rose on Thursday after a 31-year-old man succombed to his injuries after suffering 56 pellet wounds in the chest and 18 in his head. His family said he was caught between police and protesters on July 18 while walking to work.
The initial protests were over a new government job quota of 30% for descendants of veterans from the 1971 War of Independence. Following the protests, the Supreme Court lowered it to 5%, with 93% to be based on merit and 2% for ethnic minorities and disabled people.
Lethal police crackdowns and mass arrests are opressive tools that Sheikh Hasina has used throughout her 15 years in power. Not only did Hasina deploy her overwhelming security forces to break into homes, interregate families, and round up tens of thousands, but her ruling party also unleased its violent youth wing to help terrorize the protesters. Hasina is perfectly fine th violence so long as it's perpetrated by her supporters.