NN Online Report:
Quota protestors have called fresh nationwide protest rally to press home their demand on Tuesday.
The rallies will be held at 3pm, the protesters’ coordinator Nahid Islam announced on Monday (July 15) evening in front of Dhaka University’s Shahidullah Hall.
They have requested that people spontaneously join their demonstration.
Chhatra League activists and students demanding revision of the quota policy for government jobs clashed on the Dhaka University campus in the afternoon. At least 200 people were injured. Eleven of them are being treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Despite the clashes and tense atmosphere, the Dhaka University authorities have decided to keep the residential halls open.
The country has been rocked by quota reform demonstrations in recent days. The protesters are pressing for an immediate solution although the government has reiterated that the court will resolve the issue.
On Sunday (July 14), Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina criticised the demand to scrap the freedom fighter quota and asked if the descendants of Razakars would get all the benefits.
Her comment sparked protests at Dhaka University later that night. The demonstrators shouted a controversial slogan, identifying themselves as Razakars (“Who are you? Who am I? Razakar. Razakar”).
Razakar, a Persian word meaning ‘volunteers’, was an auxiliary force formed by the Pakistani junta in May 1971 to thwart Bangladesh’s birth. Collaborators from this group actively abetted the army and committed numerous war crimes during the war. A number of Razakars have been tried for crimes against humanity and convicted by the two International Crimes Tribunals.
The government scrapped the quota system for 9th–13th grade government jobs in 2018 after a series of student protests. Fifty-six percent of the posts were reserved for certain groups—30 percent for freedom fighters, 10 percent for women, 10 percent for districts, 5 percent for minorities and 1 percent for the disabled.
The High Court on June 5 of this year declared the government’s circular illegal. The 27-page verdict was published on the Supreme Court’s website on Sunday (July 14). According to it, the government can reform the quota if it wants.
On July 10, the Appellate Division issued a four-week status quo on the High Court’s decision. The 2018 circular will remain in effect during this period. The next hearing is scheduled for August 7.