Bangladesh's universities urged to close after 6 die in violent protests

Violent protests in Bangladesh prompt universities to close, with some complying immediately while others still deciding.

Authorities in Bangladesh urged all universities to close on July 17, after at least six people died in violent protests over the allocation of government jobs.

Some universities quickly moved to comply, but others, including the major university at the center of the violence, were still deciding how to respond.

The University Grants Commission asked all public and private universities to suspend classes and empty their dormitories until further notice, in order to protect students. The country’s universities are run autonomously and the request did not have legal force.

Authorities said that at least six people were killed on July 16 in violence across the country as student protesters clashed with pro-government student activists and with police, and violence was reported around the capital of Dhaka, the southeastern city of Chattogram and the northern city of Rangpur.

On July 17, stray protests took place at Dhaka University and elsewhere in the country. Police were deployed on the campus, while paramilitary border forces patrolled the streets in Dhaka and other big cities.

The protests began late last month, demanding an end to a quota that reserves 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence in 1971, but turned violent on July 15 as protesters clashed with counter-protests and police at Dhaka University, leaving 100 people injured.