Bangladesh erupts over jobs reserved for ‘freedom fighters’ children

Huge protests across Bangladesh escalated into deadly violence this week with clashes between students, pro-government supporters and armed police fueling widespread anger over civil service job quotas opponents say are discriminatory.

Dozens of people have reportedly been killed and hundreds injured in the violence, which has seen riot police use tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters and crowds of demonstrators armed with sticks filling the streets and university campuses in the capital Dhaka and other cities.

State broadcaster Bangladesh Television (BTV) was off air on Friday after student demonstrators allegedly set fire to its headquarters, according to local media, and protesters have called for a nationwide shutdown in a major challenge to the government of longstanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Mobile and internet services have been cut, schools and universities ordered to close, and security forces deployed to quell the unrest, with human rights groups accusing authorities of using unlawful force against protesters.

Many Bangladeshi students are demanding an end to the government’s quota system, which reserves more than half of civil service posts for certain groups.

Some 30% of those highly sought-after jobs are reserved for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, a seminal moment in the nation’s history as it successfully won freedom from a much larger ruler.

Many of the country’s contemporary political elite are related to that generation – including Prime Minister Hasina, a daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the widely regarded founder of modern Bangladesh who was assassinated in 1975.

The reserved roles are linked to job security and higher pay and protesters say the quota system is discriminatory and favours supporters of Hasina’s ruling Awami League party. They are demanding recruitment based on merit.

“A government job is a really good opportunity,” said Maruf Khan, 29, a Bangladeshi studying in Australia, who has joined rallies supporting the protests in Sydney. “About 500,000 to 600,000 people are competing for 600 to 700 government jobs and on top of that it includes a 56% quota. It’s not easy.” (CNN)

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