Hundreds of Bangladeshi university teachers and TV stars have held demonstrations in Dhaka on Thursday, demanding the withdrawal of police from campuses and the release of students arrested in a crackdown over last month’s mass protests.
They also demonstrated against the presence of security forces, which entered the campus two weeks ago to expel protesting students.
Students have been demonstrating since the beginning of July against a rule that reserved the bulk of government jobs for the descendants of those who fought in the country’s 1971 liberation war.
The protests turned violent in mid-July, when nationwide campus rallies were attacked by pro-government groups, leading to clashes with security forces, a week-long communications blackout, a curfew, and more than 200 deaths.
The Supreme Court eventually scrapped most of the quotas last week to open civil service positions to candidates on merit, but this was followed by a crackdown on student leaders and protesters, with thousands arrested.
Demonstrations resumed this week, with more groups joining the students and holding separate rallies across Dhaka and in other cities to demand accountability for the violence and the release of those arrested.
Meanwhile, about 300 actors, film directors and TV stars blocked the main intersection in Farmgate, one of Dhaka’s busiest and most populous areas.
