A telecommunications blackout cut Bangladesh off from the rest of the world on Friday, as the country of 170 million people hurtled towards fresh violence following days of intensifying protests and clashes between students and security forces.
The government has banned public rallies in capital Dhaka, where buildings were torched amid the clashes on Thursday. Students are protesting against the country’s job quota system. At least 19 people have died in the violence this week.
But on Friday, even amid the crackdown on phone and internet connectivity, the protests took new forms — including apparent hacking attacks on top government websites.
Here’s more about the protests, and where they are headed next.
What happened in Bangladesh on Thursday?
Protests that began weeks ago saw violence at the start of the week after student protesters were attacked by activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League Party.
As protesters refused to back down, the government on Wednesday ordered the closure of all universities — the epicentres of the movement against the quotas. But students refused to vacate campuses, in a tense standoff.
Then, on Thursday, that tension exploded into deadly violence. Thousands of students clashed with armed police in Dhaka. During these police clashes, eleven people were killed including a bus driver and a student, police sources told Al Jazeera. The AFP news agency has reported that 39 people have been killed this week — 32 on Thursday alone. Local media reports are saying at least 28 have been killed as of Thursday. Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify these numbers.
Buildings torched, internet down, bank website hacked
Authorities cut mobile and internet services to quell the unrest on Thursday. According to the watchdog NetBlocks, the South Asian country has faced a complete, nationwide internet blackout for more than 16 hours now.
The police released a statement accusing protesters of burning and vandalising buildings, including police and government offices. This included the Dhaka headquarters of state broadcaster Bangladesh Television (BTW), which remains offline since.
The websites of major news organisations including The Daily Star and Dhaka Tribune remain offline.
And several official websites in Bangladesh appeared to be hacked by a group which goes by “THE R3SISTANC3”.
The hacked websites include those of the central bank, the prime minister’s office and police.
On the website of the Prime Minister’s Office, the message reads “Stop Killing Students”, and then, in blood-red capital letters: “It’s not a protest anymore. It’s a war now.”
Details of the alleged hackers are not known. The central bank and police sites remained inaccessible when Al Jazeera tried to reach them.
Why are students protesting Bangladesh’s quota system?
University students across Bangladesh are calling for the country’s conventional job quota system to be reformed. Under the system, more than half of much sought-after government jobs are reserved
The protests erupted after June 5, when the High Court ordered the reinstatement of the 30 percent quota for children of freedom fighters who participated in the country’s liberation movement in 1971.
The quota system was in place since 1972, and was abolished by Hasina in 2018 as a result of student protests, before the court brought it back in June.
The students argue the reserved jobs for freedom fighters benefit a small group of people, affiliated with Hasina’s Awami League, which led the movement for independence from Pakistan.
Unemployment is rampant in Bangladesh, where 40 percent of youth are neither working nor in university.
What’s next?
The country’s Supreme Court suspended the High Court’s reinstatement of quotas after the government’s appeal. It has set August 7 as the date when it will hearing for the government’s challenge to the High Court ruling.
The Hasina government says it agrees with students on doing away with the quota, a position it is expected to reiterate before the Supreme Court. But student protesters are demanding a legal amendment against the quota — they say they don’t trust the government.
Students took to the streets on Friday morning and counterdemonstrations were planned after midday prayers.
How has Hasina responded?
On Wednesday, Hasina called for patience and urged the students to wait for the Supreme Court’s decision.
The same day, the PM also announced a judicial probe to investigate the killings that have taken place.
On July 14, Hasina had implied that the protesters were “Razakars“, an offensive term for those who collaborated with Pakistan during the 1971 war. That comparison further drew the ire of protesters.
- On Monday, US State Department spokesman Matt Miller criticised the violence against protesters. “The freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are essential building blocks of any thriving democracy, and we condemn any violence against peaceful protesters,” Miller said. The State Department has since then repeated that it is concerned about the violence in Bangladesh.
- UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for “restraint from all sides” according to a Thursday press briefing by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. “We call upon Bangladesh authorities to work with its young population, find solutions to the ongoing challenges and catalyse their energy towards the country’s growth and development”.
- On Wednesday, Amnesty International released an article condemning the authorities in Bangladesh. “Bangladeshi authorities used unlawful force against student protesters and failed to ensure their protection,” said the international organisation.
- “Amnesty International strongly condemns the killing of student Abu Sayed and the attacks against quota reform protesters across the country,” Taqbir Huda, regional researcher for South Asia at Amnesty International was quoted in the article.
- On Friday, a group called Activists of All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) gathered in India’s New Delhi to express solidarity with the protesting students in Bangladesh.
