DHAKA: Bangladesh students on Thursday vowed to continue countrywide protests against civil service hiring rules, rejecting an olive branch from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who promised justice for those killed in the demonstrations.
Hasina’s government has ordered the closure of universities and schools for an indefinite period and stepped up efforts to contain weeks of rallies demanding equal access to public sector jobs.
Riot police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds while protesters and students supporting the ruling Awami League have battled on the streets with bricks and bamboo sticks.
Hasina strongly condemned the killing of protesters in a televised address to the nation and vowed that those responsible will be punished irrespective of their political affiliation.
However, Students Against Discrimination, the main group behind the demonstrations, said her words were insincere and urged supporters to continue with their protests.
The group called on Bangladeshis to observe a countrywide shutdown Thursday, by keeping shops closed and staying at home.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi authorities ordered the nationwide shutdown of its mobile internet network.
Students have been staging protest demonstrations for weeks against a quota system for government jobs they say supports allies of the ruling party, but the demonstrations have escalated since violence broke out at Dhaka University on Monday.
Around six people were killed amid deadly protests on Tuesday, leading the authorities to ask universities across Bangladesh to close and police and security forces to raid the opposition political party’s headquarters.
The violence continued late Wednesday in the country’s capital. Traffic was stopped on a major highway as police and security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protest demonstrators, who set fire to a toll booth, jammed streets and detonated explosive materials, a local TV reported.
