32 dead in Bangladesh unrest, protesters set fire to state TV network

[ghazi52]

32 dead in Bangladesh unrest, protesters set fire to state TV network​

Reuters | AFP
July 18, 2024

Students take part in the ongoing anti-quota protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 18. — AFP

Bangladeshi students set fire to the country’s state broadcaster on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network seeking to calm escalating clashes that have killed at least 32 people.

Hundreds of protesters demanding reform of civil service hiring rules fought back and overwhelmed riot police who had fired at them with rubber bullets.
The incensed crowd chased the retreating officers to BTV‘s headquarters in the capital Dhaka, then set ablaze the network’s reception building and dozens of vehicles parked outside.

“Many people” were trapped inside as the fire spread, the broadcaster said in a Facebook post, but an official from the station later told AFP that they had safely evacuated the building.

Source:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1846454/3...nrest-protesters-set-fire-to-state-tv-network

 

[ghazi52]

FM Dar urges safety for Pakistani students amid Bangladesh protests​

APP
July 17, 2024

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday instructed Pakistan High Commissioner in Dhaka Syed Maroof to ensure the safety of the country’s students amid ongoing protests in Bangladesh and to work closely with local authorities for their protection.

Bangladesh ordered schools across the country yesterday to close indefinitely after six students were killed as protests over quotas for coveted government jobs turned into deadly clashes, prompting the mobilisation of paramilitaries to keep order.

The protests are the first significant challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government since she secured a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Experts attribute the unrest to stagnant job growth in the private sector, making government jobs, which offer regular wage hikes and other privileges, increasingly desirable.

Currently, 56 per cent of government jobs in Bangladesh are reserved under various quotas, including 10pc for women, 10pc for people from underdeveloped districts, 5pc for indigenous communities and 1pc for people with disabilities.

 

[ghazi52]

Bangladesh PM vows punishment for perpetrators as students mourn dead classmates​

AFP
July 18, 2024

Students protesting against quotas in government jobs carry a symbolic coffin of victims, a day after they died in a clash with police personnel, during an absentee funeral prayer ceremony at Dhaka University in the capital on July 17, 2024. — AFP

Bangladeshi Prime Minister vowed Wednesday to punish those responsible for killing six people in ongoing student protests over civil service hiring rules, hours after police forcibly dispersed a funeral ceremony to mourn the dead.

Six people were killed Tuesday in clashes around the country as rival student groups attacked each other with hurled bricks and bamboo rods, and police dispersed rallies with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The worst day of violence since demonstrations against public sector job quotas began this month prompted Hasina’s government to order the closure of schools and universities nationwide until further notice.

Hasina, whose administration is accused by protesters of misusing the quota scheme to stack coveted government jobs with loyalists, condemned the killings and insisted that perpetrators would be brought to justice.

“I condemn every murder,” she said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday evening, after a day of clashes between police forces and demonstrators.

“I firmly declare that those who carried out murders, looting and violence — whoever they are — I will make sure they will be given the appropriate punishment.”

Her speech did not assign responsibility for Tuesday’s deaths, but descriptions from hospital authorities and students given to AFP earlier suggest at least some of the victims died when police fired non-lethal weapons to quell demonstrations.