Bangladesh Restores Telecom Services Amid Deadly Protests: What You Need To Know

Bangladesh has partially restored telecommunication services following days of deadly protests against government job reservations. Despite the Supreme Court ruling bringing calm by reducing job quotas, internet speeds remain slow, and social media platforms are still suspended.

Bangladesh has partially restored telecommunication services, though internet speeds remain slow and social media platforms are still suspended. This follows deadly protests against government job reservations.

The Supreme Court's recent decision to reduce job quotas has brought relative calm to the nation.

Photo Credit: PTI

The country experienced violent student protests against a new law on job quotas. Bangladesh partially restored telecommunication services on Wednesday, but internet connections remained slow, and social media was still suspended. These actions follow days of deadly protests against government job reservations that resulted in nearly 150 deaths, as reported by Reuters.

Supreme Court Ruling Brings Calm

Since Sunday, the country has mostly been calm after the Supreme Court reduced reservations for various categories to 7%. This ruling overruled a high court verdict that had reinstated a 56% quota in government jobs, which had been scrapped in 2018. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government announced on Tuesday that it would comply with the Supreme Court ruling.

As demonstrations against the quotas, including a 30% reservation for family members of freedom fighters from the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, began to subside, the government started easing the curfew imposed last week. Officials stated that restrictions would be relaxed for seven hours on Wednesday, and offices would be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m, as reported by India Today.

Protests and Government Response

Residents of Dhaka were seen out on the streets on Wednesday morning as they made their way to their offices. Public buses were also operating in some areas, marking a stark contrast to the violent clashes witnessed in the city last week. Protesting students have issued a fresh 48-hour ultimatum to the government to fulfil four other conditions from an eight-point list of demands.

"We want the government to meet our four-point demand, including restoration of internet, withdrawal of police from campuses, and opening universities (which have been closed for a week)," protest coordinator Nahid Islam said.

Impact on Daily Life

The South Asian nation of 170 million people has been rocked by protests since last month's high court verdict left less than half of state jobs open based on merit. In a country where about 32 million young people are out of work or education, this decision sparked widespread unrest, as reported by India Today. Demonstrations intensified after Prime Minister Hasina refused to meet protesters' demands and instead labelled them "razakar," a term used for those who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the war.

This week, Hasina blamed her political opponents for the violence and stated that the curfew would be lifted "whenever the situation gets better." The main opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, denied any involvement in the violence.

International Reactions

Several countries in the region have evacuated their citizens from Bangladesh over the past few days due to the violence. India and Malaysia are among those who have taken such measures, as per media reports.

The situation remains tense as students await further action from the government regarding their demands. The partial restoration of telecommunication services is a step towards normalcy, but much remains unresolved.