Bangladeshi students staged scattered street protests on Monday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government ignored an ultimatum to release their leaders and apologize for those killed in the recent unrest.
Student rallies against civil service job quotas earlier this month led to days of violence, resulting in at least 205 deaths, including several police officers, according to police and hospital records.
These clashes were some of the worst during Hasina’s 15-year tenure, but her government has since largely restored order by deploying troops, imposing a curfew, and shutting down the internet nationwide.
At least half a dozen leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the group that organized the initial protests, are among the thousands detained by police. “The government continues to show complete and utter insensitivity to our movement,” Abdul Kader, one of the group’s coordinators, stated.
“We urge all citizens of Bangladesh to show solidarity with our demands and join our movement.” Several protests took place in the capital Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh on Monday, but they were much smaller compared to the earlier demonstrations.
Police used batons to disperse one protest on the outskirts of Dhaka, arresting at least 20 people, according to the newspaper Prothom Alo. Security forces were widely deployed throughout the megacity of 20 million to prevent further demonstrations.
Leaders of Students Against Discrimination had vowed to resume protests if police did not release their leaders by Sunday evening.
The group’s demands include a public apology from Hasina for the violence, the dismissal of several ministers, and the reopening of schools and universities that were closed during the height of the unrest.
