Bangladesh under curfew, blackout as over 100 killed in anti-quota protests

More than 100 people are reported dead in Bangladesh as student protestors stormed a prison and set fire to the state broadcaster's building among dozens of arson-related incidents this week in nearly half of the South Asian nation's 64 districts. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's office late on Friday (July 19) imposed a nationwide curfew and deployedmilitary forces to keep order after days of deadly student protests.

A communications blackout remains imposed across the country, with mobile internet access and social media blocked. Atally by news agency AFPshows the death toll at 105 at the time of filing this report.

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The protests have emerged as a definingchallenge to Prime MinisterHasina's government after 15 years in office.

"A heavy-handed response from the police and members of the ruling Awami League’s student wing have only brought out more students onto the streets. The country seems to be dangerously poised." Crisis Group’s Asia Director, Pierre Prakash told WION.

The protests in Bangladesh erupted in the wake of a June 5 ruling by the Bangladesh High Court which reinstated the 30 per cent quota for freedom fighters and their descendants in government jobs. The quota system, as it's called in Bangladesh, was repealed in 2018 after a massive agitation led by students and teachers.

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Prime Minister Hasina, on Sunday (July 14), further added fuel to the fire by referring to the protestors as 'razakars', a derogatory Bangla word for purported 'traitors'— who are historically understood to have remained either indifferent or opposed to Bangladesh's liberation fromPakistani rule in 1971.

Prime Minister Hasina's subsequent appeals for peace after July 14 have failed to quell the protests.

"The protests reflect deep political and economic tensions in Bangladesh. For several years Bangladesh's economy has been struggling and youth unemployment is a serious problem. But the quota system and the government's failed response to the protests are also a product of the country's hyper-partisan politics. Frustration has been mounting in Bangladesh because the country has not had a genuinely competitive national election for more than 15 years. With no real alternative at the ballot box, discontented Bangladeshis have few options besides street protests to make their voices heard," Prakash said.

Students say they are determined to press on with protests despite Prime Minister Hasina's national address earlier this week on the now-offline state broadcaster seeking to calm the unrest.

According to broadcaster Independent Television, more than 700 people had been wounded throughout Thursday (July 18) including 104 police officers and 30 journalists.