Bangladeshi Teachers, Stars Protest in Dhaka

Hundreds of Bangladeshi university teachers and TV stars held demonstrations in Dhaka, demanding the withdrawal of police from campuses and the release of students arrested in a crackdown over last month’s mass protests.

The teachers, led by faculty members of Dhaka University, initially gathered at different points inside the shutdown campus, but later converged with hundreds of students to rally.

Students have been demonstrating since the beginning of July against a rule that reserved the bulk of government jobs for the descendants of those who fought in the country’s 1971 liberation war.

The protests turned violent in mid-July, when nationwide campus rallies were attacked by pro-government groups, leading to clashes with security forces, a week-long communications blackout, a curfew, and more than 200 deaths.

The Supreme Court eventually scrapped most of the quotas last week to open civil service positions to candidates on merit, but this was followed by a crackdown on student leaders and protesters, with thousands arrested.

Demonstrations resumed this week, with more groups joining the students and holding separate rallies across Dhaka and in other cities to demand accountability for the violence and the release of those arrested.

The teachers’ protest in Dhaka took place in front of the Aparajeyo Bangla, a sculpture on the university campus and a memorial to those who fought in the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan that resulted in Bangladesh’s independence.

At least 11,000 people, mostly students, have been arrested following the job quota protests.

Meanwhile, about 300 actors, film directors and TV stars blocked the main intersection in Farmgate, one of Dhaka’s busiest and most populous areas.

The unrest is the biggest test facing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, since she won a fourth term in January elections.