Bangladesh students reject PM olive branch after deadly protests

Bangladesh students vowed to continue nationwide demonstrations against civil service hiring laws on Thursday ( July 18 ), rejecting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s call for justice for the seven protesters who died.

Hasina’s administration has increased efforts to contain weeks of demonstrations demanding equitable access to public sector jobs and ordered schools and universities to similar continuously.

While activists and students affiliated with the president’s ruling Awami League battled with tiles and wooden rods on the streets, police had used tear gas and rubber bullets to separate crowds.

Hasina in a televised address to the nation condemned the “murder” of activists and pledged that those accountable would be punished regardless of their political involvement.

But Students Against Discrimination, the primary class behind this week’s gatherings, said her thoughts were dishonest and urged supporters to click on.

” It did not reflect the killings and carnage carried out by her gathering campaigners”, Asif Mahmud, one of the organizers of the protests, told AFP.