Politics Protests in Bangladesh: Court reverses quota system

Following deadly clashes between demonstrators and police in Bangladesh, the highest court in Dhaka has partially reversed the reintroduction of a controversial quota system in the civil service. The plans had triggered ongoing violent student protests.

From now on, 93 percent of recruitment should be based on merit, the court ruled on Sunday, according to the broadcaster BBC Bangla. It thus at least partially followed the protesters' demand. Only the remaining seven percent would come under a quota system and be reserved primarily for descendants of soldiers who fought for the country's independence in 1971, the judges ruled.

The previous system, on the other hand, provided for 30 percent of posts for war veterans - and overall, more than half of the posts were to be reserved for certain groups. According to observers, the ruling favored supporters of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Unemployment and inflation are high in a country with a population of more than 170 million. Jobs for the government are usually well paid.

Since the start of the violence on Tuesday, more than 100 people have died in the protests, BBC Bangla reported, citing the daily newspapers "Prothom Alo" and "The Daily Star", among others. Current reports from these and other local media were not available online at the weekend. The government had largely cut internet, telephone and SMS connections. The number of victims has not been officially confirmed.

The country has been under curfew since midnight on Friday and the army has been deployed throughout the country. Nevertheless, according to BBC Bangla, there were also isolated violent incidents on Saturday. The curfew was due to be eased between 3pm and 5pm (local time) today to allow people to run essential errands, it said.