The wave of mass protests that has taken over Bangladesh, an Asian country that borders India, has led the country’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to cancel a trip she was due to make to Brazil next week. The cancellation of the trip was confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is estimated that at least 114 people died during the protests. The protests began after a student revolt against quotas for public employment. These quotas reserved 30% of the vacancies for families that fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan.
Hasina’s government had scrapped the quota system in 2018, but a court reinstated the rule last month.
Due to the protests, the government declared a curfew and ordered the closure of offices and institutions for two days.
The protests – the biggest since Hasina was re-elected to a fourth term after 15 years in power – may also have been fuelled by high unemployment among young people, who make up a fifth of the country’s 171 million population.
Internet services have been suspended since Thursday (18), isolating Bangladesh, while the police cracked down on protesters who disobeyed the order that banned public gatherings in the country. As the protests do not stop, the government mobilized military personnel to suppress the acts.
*With information from international agencies
