Bangladesh PM Hasina cancels overseas trips as deadly protests escalate

By Advait Palepu
 

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina shelved her overseas travel plans that were to start Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported, amid escalating protests that have killed dozens and triggered a nationwide internet blackout.
 

The premier canceled her trips to Spain and Brazil “due to the prevailing situation,” AFP cited her press secretary, Nayeemul Islam Khan, as saying. At least 105 people have been killed in clashes this week between student protesters and police, AFP said, citing its count of victims reported by hospitals. 

The administration has stepped up efforts to quell clashes between police and the students protesting the government’s job quota policy. The army has been deployed to support local law enforcement agencies, a curfew is in effect and an internet shutdown is affecting ATMs and mobile money companies.

The protests pose one of the toughest challenges to Hasina, who extended her grip on power for a fourth straight term in elections earlier this year. They come at a critical time for the economy, with Bangladesh seeking funds from creditors and the International Monetary Fund to bolster dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.

The government hasn’t commented on reported death toll or the outages.

Heavy-handed crackdown
 

“Authorities must immediately conduct a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the deaths,” Amnesty International said in a July 19 statement, calling it a heavy-handed crackdown. “Blanket shutdowns impact people’s safety, security, mobility, livelihood while creating instability and panic, further undermining their trust in authorities.”

Protesters have in recent days attempted to shut down transport networks and businesses after authorities closed all universities. On Saturday, the Prime Minister Office’s website also seemed hacked and defaced, with messages seeking support against government’s actions.

Students’ frustrations have centered on a policy that sets aside 30% of government job openings for family members of veterans from the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, which critics say has been abused. The anger stems also from persistently high youth unemployment that stands at about 40%, according to the latest census.