Politics Protests in Bangladesh: Internet partially accessible again

After days of deadly clashes between demonstrators and the police in Bangladesh, the situation in the South Asian country has eased somewhat. According to observers, access to the mobile internet has been partially restored since Sunday afternoon.

The government had previously made an announcement to this effect. However, social networks and messenger services such as Facebook, Tiktok and WhatsApp were initially unavailable, observers reported.

Access to the internet was cut in mid-July. Broadband connections had been working again for some time. According to media reports, the curfew for the capital Dhaka has also been eased further.

Information on the number of deaths varies

For days, students had been demonstrating against the reintroduction of a quota system for well-paid jobs in the public sector, which was due to expire in 2018. The government announced on Sunday that at least 147 people had died in the violent protests and street violence. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan spoke of the deaths of students and police officers, among others.

Local media, on the other hand, reported more than 200 deaths. More than half of them were young people, including children. At a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, it was decided to commemorate the victims on Tuesday, reported the private radio station ATN News.

Why was there a demonstration?

The government had already reversed the reintroduction of the controversial quota system in the civil service last week following a ruling by the Supreme Court. In future, only 7 percent of jobs will be reserved for certain groups instead of the planned 30 percent. According to the ruling, 93 percent of jobs will be awarded on merit - the criterion that the students had demanded.

They had criticized that the previously planned distribution would have mainly favoured supporters of the Prime Minister's ruling Awami League. Under Hasina, who has been in power since 2009, poor, Muslim-majority Bangladesh has experienced an economic upturn. Recently, however, high inflation has made life difficult for the people. Unemployment is high in the country of more than 170 million people.