Hasina flees Bangladesh as protests over veterans’ job quotas escalate

Muhammad Amin

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has fled the country after thousands of activists invaded her official residence amid protests against a quota system that guarantees government jobs for its former freedom fighters and their descendants.

Now sources are warning the country is ripe for a military coup.

Local broadcaster News18 claims “top sources” in Dhaka “indicate that an interim military government may soon be established , with the army expressing its support for the people”.

“A army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, is expected to address the nation on Monday following a month of deadly protests. The situation again turned violent on Sunday, with clashes between protesters and government supporters resulting in at least 94 deaths, including 14 police officers. The total number of casualties since the protests began has now reached over 300,” News18 reported Monday.

Al Mayadeen reports the nationwide protests took place in 20 districts Sunday, with law enforcement firing tear gas and stun grenades to disband the tens of thousands of demonstrations demanding Hasina resign following weeks of violent student-led anti-quota protests.

“The terrorists attacked the police station and killed 11 policemen,” Deputy Inspector General Bijoy Basak said, accusing demonstrators of storming a police station in the northeastern town of Enayetpur.

Local authorities and hospitals said 12 people were killed in the capital, Dhaka, with several victims sustaining gunshot wounds, while 18 others died in the northern district of Sirajganj.

“The shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop,” United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said Sunday, expressing concerns ahead of the mass nationwide protests planned for Monday.

Since July 1, thousands of Bangladeshis have been protesting the reinstatement of the quota system, which was abolished in 2018 but restored on June 5.

About 18 million young people in Bangladesh are out of work and the quota scheme has deeply frustrated graduates.

On July 19, the government imposed a curfew and called on the army to curb the protests, effectively imposing martial law.

The quota system was originally implemented by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh and father of Hasina, as a reward for fighters who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan. The quotas were later expanded to include the descendants of freedom fighters.

Students argued that the system was unfair and demanded most government jobs must be awarded on merit.

On July 21, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh slashed the number of government jobs reserved for veterans and their descendants, in a landmark decision. The court ruled only 5% of government jobs will now be reserved for veterans and their descendants, down from 30%.

That might have cooled tempers, had it not been for the severity of the police crackdown. The escalatng death toll put Hasina and the movement on a collision course that had no hope of reconciliations.