The Supreme Court of Bangladesh backs down.
According to Reuters, following the escalation of violent protests in Bangladesh over the government job quota law, which has so far led to the death of at least 114 people, the Supreme Court of Appeal of this country has canceled the major part of the quota law.
Bangladesh Attorney General Abu Mohammad Aminuddin told Reuters that the appeals court overturned the lower court’s ruling and ordered that 93 percent of government jobs be allocated to candidates based on merit.
In 2018, the government of Sheikh Hosnia, the prime minister of Bangladesh, canceled the job quota mechanism, but the lower court voted to establish this law again last month; A vote that led to widespread student protests in this country.
According to direct observations of Reuters sources, the streets of Bangladesh’s Supreme Court were immediately calmed after the appeals court’s decision, and army units were deployed throughout the country’s capital, Dhaka. Television images show the deployment of a tank in front of the door of the Supreme Court.
The government of Bangladesh extended the curfew order following the intensification of protests and the streets of Dhaka were under the control of the country’s security forces. Also, the Internet and texting services were cut off last Thursday. The curfew order was extended until today and it is not clear whether this order will be canceled after the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling.
According to local media, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has ordered the government to reduce the quota of government jobs for the family members of the veterans of the Bangladesh War of Independence from 30 to 5 percent.