Bangladesh protests: Curfew enforced after 105 deaths...
After days of fatal riots over the distribution of government employment, Bangladesh's government, led by Sheikh Hasina, late on friday authorized the deployment of armed personnel and enforced a statewide curfew. According to the news agency AFP, there have been at least 105 fatalities nationwide as a result of the fighting thus far. There are more than 1,500 injuries. Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party, declared the curfew in bangladesh, stating that it was implemented to support the civilian administration in maintaining law and order.
The decision was made in the hours following the prohibition on all meetings in the nation's capital, Dhaka, and the use of tear gas and gunfire by police and security personnel against demonstrators on Friday. The majority-student demonstrators have been staging protests in Dhaka and other towns against the public sector job reservation system, which includes a quota for the kin of war heroes who fought for the nation's independence from pakistan in 1971. They want a merit-based system to replace the current one, claiming it is discriminatory and favors supporters of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party spearheaded the independence campaign.
Prime minister of bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, however, has defended the quota system, stating that regardless of their party membership, veterans should be treated with the utmost respect for their services to the war. On Thursday, the protest took a dark turn as protestors set fire to the national broadcaster. Authorities closed the railway services to and from Dhaka as well as the metro rail within the capital due to the unrest. Additionally, the government issued orders to shut down mobile internet networks in a number of the nation's regions. Universities and schools are closed indefinitely.
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