INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Hasan still has the metalpellets Bangladesh police fired at him lodged deep in his bones
Fearful he will join the growing ranks of those thrown behind bars by the state for participating in protests that have swept Bangladesh
Students across the country had mobilised to oppose the reintroduction of quotas for all government jobs, meaning 30% would go to
descendants of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence.While it was a decision made by the courts, it was seen by many as a thinly
veiled political manoeuvre by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, who has a tight grip over the judiciary
fullscreenSmoke rises from burning vehicles in Dhaka on 18 July
Photograph: AFP/GettyThe move prompted widespread outrage on campuses as students already grappling with an economic downturn and high youth
unemployment saw one of their few chances of landing a stable job being stolen from them, with thousands of civil service placements to be
appointed through patronage rather than merit
But as more support for the protests grew, a violent, state-led crackdown began in response and campuses descended into bloody battlefields,
forces, fire teargas from a helicopter on crowds below and army forces fire at protesters with what appeared to be light machine
an issue of quotas, which were scaled back by the court on Sunday, but a growing civilian-led movement to bring down Hasina, who has ruled
middle name to protect his identity
peaceful protesters, stirring up some of the worst clashes in Bangladesh in more than a decade.He was participating in a protest at a
university in Dhaka last week when armed men from the pro-government student groups Chhatra League and Youth League and riot police officers
At one point, the police and the thugs sandwiched us on a road
We were in the middle of a street and they attacked from both sides
to the ground as they were hit with rubber bullets and metal pellets fired directly at them
He was hit on his face, back and neck and had to be rushed to hospital and needs surgery to remove the pellets that penetrated his
bones.View image in fullscreenBangladesh border guards in Dhaka
Photograph: Monirul Alam/EPAFaria, 23, an economics student at a public university in Bangladesh, witnessed similar scenes as she took part
She alleged she was set upon by groups of men from Chhatra League, who began beating her with sticks and pulling her hair
throat with blood gushing out
He was hit by some type of bullet and was in shock, unable to scream
up by political opposition and Islamist groups who were against Bangladesh as a nation and that she had deployed paramilitary and police
More than 2,500 members of the political opposition party have been arrested.The exiled Bangladeshi political analyst Mubashar Hasan said,
thousands of killings and hundreds of enforced disappearances, allegedly by state forces, and mass incarceration of her critics.He said that
Photograph: Monirul Alam/EPAHe added that while it was difficult to predict what the outcome would be, the mass mobilisation had left Hasina
in a weakened position and was the greatest challenge to her rule since she took power in 2009
descended on Bangladesh after the court ruling on Sunday scaled back the quotas to just 5%
Student leaders temporarily called off all demonstrations, saying they wanted no more bloodshed, and presented Hasina with a set of demands,
including an apology and justice for those killed in the violence.But the ultimatum expired on Thursday night with no response from Hasina
Student activists said further action was planned but was hindered because many of the organisers were in hospital or had been detained by
police, with some alleging torture
Others confirmed they had been put under de facto house arrest, with all forms of communication cut off, and under constant surveillance
from a counter-terrorism police unit notorious for being involved in enforced disappearances.Bangladesh, meanwhile, remains under an
indefinite curfew, causing devastation to livelihoods
The prime minister is getting weaker day by day
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
