Bangladesh Unrest: Top Court Scraps Most Job Quotas After Deadly Clashes

(Bloomberg) -- Bangladesh’s top court abolished most of a controversial government jobs quota system after deadly protests by students across the country in the past week. 

The Supreme Court nullified a lower court’s decision on the jobs policy, local TV channels reported Sunday, sharply reducing the quotas for government roles.  

The protesters had opposed an earlier decision to reserve up to 30% of the jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. At least 151 people were killed in clashes between protesters and police in the past week, according to Agence France-Presse. 

The Supreme Court said Sunday that 93% of government jobs will be appointed on merit. The quota will apply to only 7% of jobs. Of that, 5% will go to family members of war veterans and 2% will be reserved for disadvantaged groups, such as ethnic minorities.

The government imposed a curfew on Friday night and deployed the army on the streets, with police given a “shoot-on-sight” order to quell the violence. Internet connection across the country was also cut since Thursday. The government declared public holidays on Sunday and Monday, effectively closing government and private offices.

The protests are the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule since she won a fourth straight term in elections earlier this year. Her government is under pressure to stabilize the economy, and is seeking funds from China and receiving support from the International Monetary Fund to bolster dwindling foreign exchange reserves. 

Protesters are opposed to the quota system because they say it excludes new job seekers in favor of supporters of Hasina, whose party led the independence movement to separate from Pakistan. The quota system had been suspended by Hasina after a previous round of mass student protests in 2018. 

Hasina’s party, the Bangladesh Awami League, has blamed opposition political parties for fueling the student protests. Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the ruling party, said this week the attacks on government buildings, the police and acts of vandalism have been organized by opposition groups like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Several leaders of the party have been arrested, local media reported. 

The US and other countries warned their citizens against traveling to Bangladesh, while India has evacuated some of its nationals, mainly students from the country. 

--With assistance from Niluksi Koswanage.

(Updates with additional details)

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