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Students in Bangladesh called for new street protests on Monday (Jul 29) after the government ignored an ultimatum to release their leaders and apologise for those killed in the deadly unrest.
Student protests against civil service job quotas this month sparked days of violence that killed at least 205 people including several police officers, data released by the news agency AFP said. Thousands of protesters were taken into custody.
Those detained included half a dozen leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the group that organised the initial agitation. In a statement, Students Against Discrimination member Abdul Kader said that the government was “continuing to show complete and utter insensitivity to our movement.”
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“We are calling for a protest rally across the country. We are requesting all citizens of Bangladesh to show solidarity with our demands and join in our movement,” Kader said.
The demands
The demands of Students Against Discrimination include a public apology from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the violence, the dismissal of several of her ministers, and the reopening of schools and universities around Bangladesh that were shuttered at the height of the unrest.
On Saturday, another member Abdul Hannan Masud demanded that the group’s chief Nahid Islam, and others should be freed from detention and the cases against them must be withdrawn.
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Islam and two others were taken into custody last Friday.
‘Police were forced to open fire’
On Sunday, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that police personnel operated with restraint but were forced to open fire on protesters to protect government buildings during the unrest.
State media reported that at least 9,000 people have been arrested nationwide since the agitation began.
Addressing a press conference, Home Minister Khan said, “Despite the killing of their fellow officers, they (police) showed extreme levels of patience.”
“But when they saw that the properties could not be protected, then police were forced to open fire,” Khan added.
(With inputs from agencies)
Source link : https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladesh-unrest-students-call-for-new-protests-after-govt-ignores-their-ultimatum-745205/amp
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Publish date : 2024-07-29 04:22:49
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