Police arrest over 500 people during student protests in Bangladesh
During the violent student protests in Bangladesh, over 500 people have been arrested according to police reports. A spokesperson for the Dhaka police headquarters told the news agency AFP that among the at least 532 arrested were leading members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
According to an AFP count, at least 151 people have been killed during the student protests, which are demanding an end to a quota system for public sector jobs. On Sunday, the Bangladeshi Supreme Court ruled to significantly limit the quota system and called on the protesters to return to their classes.
However, a representative of the students declared that the protests should continue. The students had demanded a complete abolition of the quota system.
The system previously reserved more than half of the well-paid positions in the public sector for certain population groups. Particularly the children of veterans of the 1971 uprising, which ended Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, were to benefit from it. According to the Supreme Court ruling, only seven percent of the positions should be reserved under the quotas going forward.
Critics of the quotas argue that they benefit supporters of the ruling government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since 2009, who was re-elected in January in an election with almost no opposition.
The student protesters in Bangladesh have gained support from various sectors of the society, including many ordinary people. Despite the police arrests, public sympathy towards the protesters seeking an end to the quota system for jobs has remained strong.
The Bangladesh Police have been deployed in large numbers to maintain law and order during the student protests, but their methods have been met with criticism by human rights groups.
After the ruling to limit the quota system, several job-seeking students have started exploring alternative ways to secure employment, such as seeking opportunities in the private sector or abroad.
