Bangladesh students to keep up protests despite scrapping of most quotas

By Mohammad Ponir Hossain and Sam Jahan

DHAKA (Reuters) -Bangladesh appeared calm on Monday amid a curfew, but widespread disruption of telecoms persisted a day after the Supreme Court scrapped some controversial job quotas, as protesters set the government a 48-hour deadline to meet new demands.

Clashes between student protesters and security forces killed at least 147 people across the South Asian nation after the high court last month reinstated job reservations removed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government in 2018.

On Sunday, however, the Supreme Court ordered that 93% of government jobs should be allocated on the basis of merit, against earlier quotas of 56% for groups such as families of freedom fighters, women, and people from underdeveloped areas.

"We will continue our protests until the government publishes the verdict in the gazette," said a Dhaka University student, speaking on condition of anonymity, in a reference to the government's official record of decisions.

Student protesters have also demanded the release of detained protest leaders, the lifting of curfew and the re-opening of universities shut since Wednesday.

They have given the government 48 hours to act, but it was not immediately clear what would happen afterwards.

There were no reports of violence or protests on Monday and media said curfew would be relaxed for three hours in the afternoon, extended from two hours the previous day, so that people could buy essentials.

Army tanks were seen stationed at several places in the streets of Dhaka, the capital, while armed security patrols directed the few motorists who ventured out.

Department stores said they were running out of stocks because of supply disruptions following the curbs. The suspension of internet services also affected travel plans and essential services.

Several migrant workers gathered at the offices of an airline on Sunday to collect tickets booked online, while others collected at the office of a power distribution company in Dhaka's Tejgaon area to pay electricity bills in person.

The internet disruption also affected activity at the southern port of Chittagong, where security was tightened on Monday.

Thousands were injured in last week's protests as security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound grenades to scatter the demonstrators.

Experts have blamed the unrest on stagnant job growth in the private sector and high rates of youth unemployment that have made government jobs, with their regular wage hikes and other privileges, more attractive.

Hasina, who was sworn in for a fourth consecutive term this year, has been accused of authoritarianism, human rights violations, and crackdowns on free speech and dissent in the past - charges her government denies.

(Additional reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar in Mumbai; Writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh and Clarence Fernandez)