Bangladesh

After student protest and the harsh repression that cost more than 200 lives, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina bans Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing as terrorist organisations, blaming them for the violence. The party was created by Bangladeshis who fought for Pakistan in the 1971 War of Independence. The true unity for the good of the country remains a challenge.

This is a partial figure calculated only on the deaths so far confirmed while investigations continue to establish a definitive count. The unrest in recent weeks has also spread to the outlying areas of the capital. Yesterday Christians gathered in prayer for the victims.

The bishop of Rajshahi, president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, spoke to AsiaNews, calling for an end to the curfew that shut down the country, harming the poor above all. Those killed deserve justice, but order must be maintained. While Dhaka has been trying to get back to normal this morning, the death toll has risen to at least 197. Students say that some of their leaders are missing following the wave of arrests. The government blames the opposition and foreign "accomplices".

While an Internet and communications blackout continues, the number of arrests topped 2,500. Unlike in the past, dissatisfaction with the government affects all segments of society. This has to do with a stagnant economy and changes to the workplace, Fr Gian Paolo Gualzetti reports. The PIME missionary runs a youth labour centre outside the capital Dhaka.

The percentage of posts in the public sector reserved for descendants of combatants in the war of independence was reduced from 30% to 5%. The curfew has been partly relaxed, but students are demanding the release of leaders and the resignation of some ministers. Unlike in the past, today the discontent with the government led by PM Hasina is more generalised.

Soldiers have been deployed in the streets, while gatherings have been banned and the Internet is still down. Some sources claim that at least 105 have died with 1,500 injured in clashes. A prison was attacked and set on fire with inmates allowed to escape. What started as a protest over public employment quotas has quickly morphed in an all-out battle. Hundreds of Indian students have been repatriated, while India is not taking any position over the clashes.

Students, who have been protesting for days demanding the abolition of quotas in public hiring, set fire to the state TV headquarters and other government offices in response to a harsh police crackdown. Yesterday alone 32 people were killed. The protest is acting as a catalyst against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was re-elected in January but in a vote boycotted by the opposition who accuse her of authoritarianism.

Today's news: at least 32 killed in student protest in Bangladesh, state TV set on fire; Police investigate cyanide used in the murder-suicide of six Vietnamese men in a Bangkok hotel; Consensus reached between Tokyo and Pacific Island leaders on releasing Fukushima waters into the ocean; Monsoons in Nepal caused 125 deaths in little over a month.

Demonstrations over the controversial quota system have mobilised thousands of young people, angered also by the prime minister who referred to them as “razakar", i.e. Bangladeshis who collaborated with Pakistan in 1971. Six people die in violent clashes with police and the Awami League’s student wing. Christian leaders back quotas to protect the most marginalised, but acknowledge they can be reformed.

Tens of thousands of young people have been on the streets for five days in the capital and across the country. They are demanding reform of the system that favours relatives of independence fighters. Amnesty's concern over police violence. Nil coordinator Nahid Islam: "We call for emergency session of Parliament".

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council today released its annual report on the persecution of ethnic-religious minorities in the country. About 1,045 incidents of violence were recorded in the past year, with 45 deaths. For lawyer Rana Dasgupta, “The environment for free religious practice has been completely narrowed.”

On the journey towards the October Assembly, the dioceses of Bangladesh held a seminar with the undersecretary of the Vatican department Sr. Nathalie Becquart. Participants: 'A revival for the Catholic Church in the country'. Archbishop Bejoy N. D'Cruze: "The laity want to participate in decisions and expect to see their dignity more recognised".