Bangladesh declares day of mourning for riot victims

The Bangladesh government has declared a day of mourning for victims of violence resulting from the nationwide riots.
Students criticized the decision as a lack of respect for classmates who died in clashes with police.
The clashes were among the most serious during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure.

Bangladesh’s government on Tuesday declared a day of mourning for victims of violence amid nationwide unrest. But students criticized the gesture as disrespectful to classmates killed in clashes with police earlier this month. Student protests over civil service job quotas led to days of violence that left at least 206 people dead, including several police officers, according to police and hospital records from AFP.

The clashes were among the worst in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure, but her government has largely restored order through mass arrests, military deployments and a nationwide internet shutdown that was lifted on Sunday. Her administration said Tuesday the violence, destruction of government buildings and “terrorist activities” at the height of the unrest would be solemnly commemorated with prayers at mosques across the country.

Students Against Discrimination, the group that organised the initial protests, claimed the government statement was intended to distract police from responsibility for the death toll.

“Instead of ensuring justice for the mass murders committed by state forces, students were cruelly ridiculed,” Mahin Sarker, one of the group’s coordinators, said in a statement.

The Daily Star newspaper reported that police arrested more than 10,000 people in the unrest, prompting rights groups to criticise the size of the raids.

“The mass arrests and arbitrary detention of student protesters is a witch hunt by the authorities, aimed at silencing anyone who dares to challenge the government,” Smriti Singh of Amnesty International said in a statement.

Troops continue to patrol urban areas, and a nationwide curfew remains in place. But the government has been gradually easing the curfew since early last week, signaling confidence in regaining control. The protests began this month in response to the reintroduction of a quota system that reserves more than half of all government jobs for specific groups.

According to government figures, some 18 million young Bangladeshis are unemployed, and graduates who face a severe job crisis have been deeply upset by the decision. Critics say the quota system is being used to fill public posts with loyalists of the ruling Awami League. After the riots, the Supreme Court significantly reduced the number of reserved posts, but it has not fully met protesters’ demands to eliminate the most controversial aspects of the system.

At 76, Hasina has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and secured her fourth consecutive election victory in January after a vote with no real opposition. Rights groups accuse her government of abusing state institutions to consolidate power and suppress dissent, including through extrajudicial killings of opposition activists. The protests remained largely peaceful until police and pro-government student groups attacked demonstrators.

“Law enforcement agencies must be held fully accountable for the numerous cases of excessive and lethal force used against protesters and others,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on Tuesday.

Hasina’s government has accused opposition parties of hijacking the protests to incite unrest. Over the weekend, Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that security forces had acted with restraint but were forced to open fire to defend government buildings.