Bangladesh restores mobile internet that had been out of power for 11 days to suppress protests, and at least 147 people died in violent incidents over government employment allocations

Bangladesh restored mobile internet 11 days after a nationwide power outage was implemented to contain deadly protests over government office allocations.

In Bangladesh in South Asia, 4G mobile internet service was resumed on Sunday, a few hours after the announcement was made by Minister of Communications and Information and Communications Technology Znaid Ahmed Palak.

After a meeting with internet service providers (ISPs) and other stakeholders held in the capital Dhaka, the state chief said, “We have decided to restore 4G network connectivity from 3:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. Japan time) today.”

However, social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube are still restricted. Broadband internet connections were restored on Tuesday, but the majority of internet users in Bangladesh rely on mobile devices to connect to the world.

On July 17, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government stopped mobile internet services, dispatched the military, and issued a curfew after tens of thousands of students took to the streets to seek a quota system reform that allocates 30% of government positions to relatives of veterans who fought in the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.

The demonstrations were one of the biggest unrest during Prime Minister Hasina's 15-year tenure, but remained mostly peaceful until protesters were attacked by police and pro-government student groups last week.

Interior Minister Asaduzaman Khan announced on Sunday that at least 147 people had died as a result of the violence. This was announced the day after the “Students Against Discrimination,” which is a major group of demonstrators, tentatively announced that at least 266 people had died.

Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka, Khan said the dead included students, police, activists, and people from various occupations, and added that further investigations are underway to determine the total number of deaths.

According to estimates by a third party, the death toll is over 200.

Interior Minister Khan told reporters that the police acted with restraint and only opened fire on protesters to protect government buildings. He also added that the police only abducted some protesters for their own safety.

“They were extremely patient even though their fellow cops were killed. “However, when they found out that the property could not be protected, the police were forced to open fire.

Students foreshadow further protests

Students who oppose the quota system called it discriminatory, and began peaceful protests in June after the High Court court restored the quota system that was abolished in 2018.

According to government statistics, around 18 million young Bangladeshi people are out of work, and the movement to restore their quotas has deeply upset graduates facing a serious employment crisis.

Critics say this allocation is being used to impose public work on loyal supporters of the ruling Awami League.

Amid protests, the country's Supreme Court cut the 30% quota for veterans' descendants to 5%, and the quota for ethnic minorities, transgenders, and people with disabilities was limited to 2%. However, the Supreme Court fell short of protesters' demands to completely abolish the quota system.

Army patrols and nationwide curfews continue even now, more than a week after they were issued. Schools and other educational institutions remain closed until further notice.

According to reports from DPA Communications, in order to restore calm, the government relaxed the curfew in Dhaka for 11 hours (from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.) from Sunday, and set the office work hours for the next 3 days from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, police investigation networks have arrested thousands of protesters, including at least half a dozen student leaders.

The members of “Students Against Discrimination” stated that they would end the week-long moratorium on protests, but vowed to renew the moratorium if the leaders were not released.

Abdul Hanan Masoud, a member of the group, told reporters in an online briefing late Saturday night that Nahid Islam, the group's chief, and other members “should be released and the trial against them must be dropped.”

“Otherwise, students who oppose discrimination will be forced to launch severe protests starting Monday,” Masoud said.