US urges Bangladesh to uphold right to peaceful protest amid anti-quota protests
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The protests turned violent this week when thousands of anti-quota protesters clashed with members of the student wing of the ruling Awami League party across the country.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON - The United States has called on Bangladesh to uphold the right to peaceful protest amid demonstrations against the government's job quota system,
The protests turned violent this week
Students have protested over public sector job quotas, which include a 30 per cent reservation for family members of fighters from the 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government will form a judicial committee to investigate the killings.
The quotas have caused anger among students who face high youth unemployment rates, with nearly 32 million young Bangladeshis not in work or education out of a total population of 170 million people.
Key quotes
"We condemn any violence against peaceful protesters. We've been watching this matter very closely, both from our embassy and officials here in Washington. (We) have been monitoring the protests, have seen the reports of people dying, being killed in the protests. And we again, call on the government to uphold individual's rights to protest peacefully," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on July 17.
Context
Demonstrations intensified after Ms Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, refused to meet the protesters’ demands.
Ms Hasina labelled those opposing the quota as “razakar”, a term used for those who allegedly collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 war.
The protests are the first significant challenge to Ms Hasina's government since she secured a fourth consecutive term in January in an election that the US said was not free and fair. REUTERS
