Diplomats in Dhaka questioned the government’s deadly response to widespread student protests following a presentation by the foreign minister that laid the blame for recent violence at demonstrators’ feet, diplomatic officials said Monday.
What began as a movement against politicised admission quotas for sought-after government jobs has snowballed into some of the worst unrest of prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, with at least 163 people killed in clashes so far, according to an AFP count of victims reported by police and hospitals.
The foreign minister, Hasan Mahmud, summoned ambassadors for a briefing on Sunday and showed them a 15-minute video that sources said focused on damage caused by protesters.
A senior diplomatic official in Dhaka, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP on Monday that US ambassador Peter Haas said Hasan Mahmud was presenting a one-sided version of events.Â
‘I am surprised you did not show the footage of police firing at unarmed protesters,’ the source quoted Haas as telling the minister.
The source added that Hasan Mahmud also did not respond to a question from a United Nations representative about the alleged use of UN-marked armoured personnel carriers and helicopters, which the country has in its military inventories, to suppress the protests.
The meeting came after Bangladesh’s top court pared back the hiring quotas for highly desirable government jobs that have been at the centre of the protests.
The decision curtailed the number of reserved jobs from 56 per cent of all positions to 7 per cent, most of which will still be set aside for the children of freedom fighters.
A spokesperson for Students Against Discrimination, the main group organising the demonstrations, told the AFP, ‘We will not call off our protests until the government issues an order reflecting our demands.’
Hasina, 76, has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
