(Bloomberg) -- Weeks of protests by students in Bangladesh demanding the removal of a quota system for government jobs have spiralled into violent clashes with police and counter-protesters, leaving at least 39 people dead.
Student leaders were trying to shut down transport networks and disrupt the economy to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to give in to their demands. Police said demonstrators set fire to several government buildings, including the state broadcaster. The authorities banned public rallies in the capital and deployed paramilitary forces in an attempt to restore order.
Most of Bangladesh was experiencing an internet blackout, according to monitoring service NetBlocks. The US embassy in Dhaka was closed and neighboring India advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Bangladesh.
Here’s what’s driving the country’s most violent protests in six years.
Why are students protesting in Bangladesh?
They are trying to overturn a decades-old quota-based hiring system for government jobs, arguing that the practice is discriminatory. The quota system had been suspended by Hasina after a previous round of mass student protests in 2018. But last month, Bangladesh’s High Court scrapped that decision and reinstated the quotas, bringing students out onto the streets again. On July 10, the Supreme Court suspended the lower court’s order for four weeks and asked the students to return to their classes, to no avail. Competition is fierce for civil service jobs that are seen as more stable and better paid than work in the private sector. More than 400,000 graduates compete for some 3,000 government jobs each year.
What is Bangladesh’s jobs quota system?
The quota system for jobs in the Bangladesh Civil Service, introduced in 1972, is meant to provide a leg-up to certain groups: descendants of war veterans, religious and ethnic minorities, people from underrepresented districts and those with disabilities. The system reserves as much as 30% of government jobs for family members of war heroes who fought for independence from Pakistan in 1971. Overall, 56% of government jobs were being reserved under various quotas before the suspension of the system. The protesters say the quotas have excluded new job seekers and been used to reward supporters of Hasina, whose party led the movement to separate from Pakistan.
What has Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said about the protests?
Hasina is critical of the protesters and backs the quota-based hiring system. She says everybody, regardless of party affiliation, should treat freedom fighters with due respect for their sacrifice in the 1971 war. Law and Justice Minister Anisul Huq has said the government is ready to hold talks with protest leaders to find a solution and that it plans to expedite the court proceedings.
What do the protests mean for Bangladesh’s economy?
A long-lasting shutdown of transport networks and businesses, if successfully enforced by the students, would deal a blow to an already struggling economy. Bangladesh went to the International Monetary Fund in 2022 for help to rebuild depleted foreign exchange reserves. It’s currently in talks with China for a loan of about $5 billion to bolster those reserves. Many Bangladeshis are suffering from a cost of living crisis, and the government is under pressure from the IMF to raise interest rates to tame inflation that’s held at 9% since March last year. The protests could distract the government from its efforts to strengthen the fragile economy, although they are unlikely to affect the loan talks with the IMF.
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