Student Leader Release Fails To Quell Bangladesh Protests

AFP/APP

Dhaka: Demonstrations in Bangladesh erupted after Friday prayers, with protesters demanding justice for victims of the nationwide unrest and police crackdown. The protests followed the release of protest leaders, which failed to calm public anger.

Student rallies against civil service job quotas had sparked days of violence that resulted in at least 206 deaths last month, according to an AFP count of police and hospital data.

The unrest marked some of the worst violence during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure, drawing widespread domestic and international criticism for the actions of her government’s security forces.

Despite the release of six top members of the group that organized the initial protests, its leaders urged supporters to return to the streets. “We want justice for the murders of our sisters and brothers,” said Students Against Discrimination in a statement.

Thousands of young men in Dhaka, the capital, and Chittagong, the port city, responded to the call after midday prayers, defying torrential monsoon rains. Protesters chanted, “Why are our brothers in graves and the killers outside?” outside the largest mosque in central Dhaka, a city of 20 million.

Students Against Discrimination had previously demanded the release of its detained leaders, three of whom were forcibly removed from a hospital and taken away by plainclothes police last week. Their release was seen as an attempt by the government to “de-escalate tensions” with the protesters, according to University of Oslo researcher Mubashar Hasan.

However, other student demands remain unmet, including a public apology from Hasina for the violence and the dismissal of several of her ministers. The students are also calling for the reopening of schools and universities across the country, which were closed during the height of the unrest.