(Bloomberg) -- Security forces patrolled Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Monday, as a government-imposed curfew attempted to quell student-led protests against a public sector hiring system.
The uneasy calm comes a day after the country’s supreme court ruled to remove most of the government job allocations for families of veterans who fought in the nation’s war of independence in 1971, bringing forward a review originally scheduled for August. The country’s internet stayed offline for a fourth day.
The Supreme Court asked the students to return to their universities, which have been shut for days. It isn’t clear if the court’s ruling will fully placate them. In an attempt at easing tensions after the deadly protests last week left more than 150 people dead, the government declared Sunday and Monday as public holidays.
The government jobs quota system, which were unexpectedly reinstated last month by a lower court, hit a raw nerve in a country with both persistently high youth unemployment and a private sector that’s struggled to create jobs.
The unrest is the deadliest since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina extended her grip in power for a fourth term in elections in January, promising to further develop the country. It is also a distraction for a government seeking more funds from creditors and the International Monetary Fund to bolster dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.
While Hasina has overseen one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and helped lift millions out of poverty, those achievements are often overshadowed by her authoritarian turn, with critics alleging the 76-year-old leader has used state institutions to stamp out dissent and stifle the media. The opposition boycotted this year’s elections.
Last week, Hasina had asked the students to have faith in the court process but she has also vowed to go after what she called the anarchists involved in the protests. Police have remanded six opposition leaders for alleged attacks on government property, according to Ekkator TV. In a televised speech, Hasina vowed to be tough on attackers who damaged government property and spread violence.
“The rising death toll is a shocking indictment of the absolute intolerance shown by the Bangladeshi authorities to protest and dissent,” said Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International. “The unlawful force used against protesters shows a callous disregard for the right to life.”
(Updates with comment from Hasina in second last paragraph.)
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