Bangladesh: why the country rose up against its Prime Minister ?

Protests began in early July in Bangladesh. Initially peaceful, they turned violent after clashes with security forces left people dead. The Prime Minister resigned.

What's happening in Bangladesh? This small South Asian country has been in the news for several days because of violent and deadly demonstrations. It all started at the beginning of July. Students and young graduates were demanding an end to the system of recruitment in public jobs, which are a guarantee of stable employment. Indeed, in Bangladesh, the system reserves 30% of these jobs for the children of “freedom fighters” [those who participated in Bangladesh's liberation war against Pakistan in 1971, editor's note]. However, according to government figures, 18 million young people are unemployed. In addition, the protesters believe that this is a maneuver to favor the loyalists of the Awami League, the ruling party, reports franceinfo.

Protests against this system are not new. It was partially abolished in 2018, but was finally restored in June of this year by the courts. This decision is the starting point of the demonstrations, which were initially intended to be peaceful. This student movement had led the Supreme Court of Bangladesh to temporarily suspend most quotas, but this decision proved insufficient for students who are demanding the total repeal of the text.

The first deaths and the conflagration

Everything changed on July 16, when people died during the demonstrations. This provoked the anger of the students, who then demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76. A curfew was also imposed from July 19.

The social crisis has now become a political crisis, with increasingly violent acts committed by both protesters and law enforcement. According to the Bangladeshi Interior Minister, there have been fires in public buildings, police stations and the headquarters of the state television. The railway network in Dhaka, the capital, is reportedly inoperable. These actions led the Prime Minister to accuse the protesters on Sunday, August 4, of being “terrorists seeking to “destabilize the nation,” reports the BBC.

Repression by all means

On the side of the security forces, the clashes with the demonstrators were particularly violent. The army was even deployed on July 19, and the police fired live ammunition at the demonstrators, who were armed with sticks and knives. As of Tuesday, August 6, the death toll in one month was 409, including protesters and police officers, according to an AFP report.

In order to limit communications, the government first restricted access to the internet in mid-July. It was then completely cut off on August 5. The study places, where the students who started the movement meet, have also been closed “until further notice,” the government announced. July 16, the Ministry of Education.

The international community calls for calm

Faced with the violent repression against the demonstrators, the international community has reacted. First, the NGO Amnesty International denounced, in mid-July, an “illegal” use of force “against” “student protesters”. On Sunday, August 4, the UN spoke out, condemning “the shocking violence in Bangladesh.” In a statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Tüml;rk, said: “The government must stop targeting those peacefully participating in the protest movement, immediately release those arbitrarily detained [several hundred opposition members have been [decrees, Editor’s note], reestablish full access to internet and create the conditions for a constructive dialogue."

The shift of 5 août

On 4 août, Asif Mahmud, one of the leaders of the collective "Students Against Discrimination", à the origin of the protest, had called for &agrav; civil disobedience, which included not paying taxes or bills for public services.

These various events led to the Prime Minister's escape by helicopter from her palace. Indeed, anti-government protesters managed to storm it after a call for a “final demonstration” by Asif Mahmud. This day was particularly deadly. Police and doctors estimate that there were 109 deaths on that day alone.

Since then, it has been the army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who has been communicating with the population. In a televised message, he announced the resignation of the Prime Minister. A statement that has caused joy and prompted millions of Bangladeshis to celebrate and party in the streets of Dhaka, RFI reports. The general also called for calm: “The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed. It is time to end the violence.” Waker-Uz-Zaman called for the creation of an interim government and must meet, Tuesday, August 6, with the leaders of the student movement to find a new Prime Minister. For Nahid Islam, the leader of the student movement, has already proposed the name of Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner.