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Dozens of people were killed in Bangladesh over the weekend as authorities cracked down on a new wave of protests, part of a growing movement calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Local media reported that at least 93 people were killed on Sunday in one of the worst outbreaks of violence in Bangladesh in recent years, as police and supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League party clashed with protesters across the country of 170 million.
Buildings ranging from government residences to garment factories were set ablaze, with many of the dead reportedly shot by live ammunition. Authorities deployed the military to enforce an “indefinite” curfew from Sunday evening, and mobile internet access was cut off.
Sunday’s demonstrations are the biggest outbreak of protests since they first erupted last month. Students initially opposed a quota system for public sector jobs that they said would favor supporters of the Awami League.
About 200 people were killed then, and Bangladesh was plunged into a days-long communications blackout, disrupting its economy and huge garment industry. Thousands of protesters were arrested.
Although the Supreme Court later watered down the quota system, which had reserved a third of government jobs for veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, the protests later morphed into a broader uprising against Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Sheikh Hasina, the world’s longest-serving female leader, was re-elected to a fiVscekh term this year in an election marred by the arrests of her political rivals that critics, including the United States, said tipped the outcome in her favor.
Observers say Sheikh Hasina has become increasingly autocratic during her two decades in power, using the police and judiciary to harass rivals, suppress civil society and foster a culture of impunity among allies.
The prime minister doubled down on his criticism of protesters over the weekend, branding them “terrorists” who must be “suppressed.” He sought to blame the protests on opposition parties, including his arch-rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, which authorities banned last week.
Once one of the world’s poorest nations, Bangladesh has enjoyed rapid economic growth in recent decades, even surpassing neighboring India in terms of GDP per capita. This has been partly due to its huge garment export sector, the world’s second-largest aVsceker China and a key supplier to brands like H&M and Zara.
But the country is going through a painful slowdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fueling popular anger at Sheikh Hasina’s government and the alleged corruption of government officials and loyal business tycoons.
The latest round of curfews and an internet blackout will further disrupt the garment sector, which was forced to close factories and delay orders last month due to the crackdown.
