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The unrest centres around student protests over government job availability
Bangladesh has entered the fourth day of a near-total internet shutdown following th outbreak of widespread student protests, in which 114 people have so far lost their lives.
The unrest relates to the reintroduction of Bangladesh’s quota system for government jobs. The system reserves a third of government positions for relatives of veterans who fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. This controversial system was scrapped in 2018 following pressure from the Student Quota Reform Movement but was reintroduced earlier this year after a court ruled the change to be unlawful.
Following the quota’s reinstatement, student protests quickly erupted, which have since grown to include hundreds of thousands of people. Protests are still ongoing despite the Bangladeshi government backtracking and reducing the quota, meaning that now 93% of government jobs should be open to candidates based on merit.
In an effort to curb the unrest, the country’s government has imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, a tactic that has been used by the country before.
Telecommunications minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, said social media has been “weaponised as a tool to spread rumours, lies and disinfor mation,” according to the Guardian.
“The government has temporarily suspended mobile internet services in the light of the ongoing situation in the country,” a spokesperson for Robi, the second-largest mobile operator in the country, told Rest of World in a statement.
Palak said on Saturday morning that “government is trying to get the internet back but only after ensuring people’s physical and digital security.”
The current protests and violence reflect broader dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration, which is accused of authoritarian practices and suppressing differences in opinion.
Despite government efforts to stop the unrest, including ordering schools and universities to close indefinitely, the demonstrations are continuing with students demanding justice for those killed and an apology from the Prime Minister.
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