Dhaka (National Times) The Bangladeshi student group leading demonstrations that have spiralled into deadly violence suspended protests on Monday for 48 hours, with its leader saying they had not wanted reform \u201cat the expense of so much blood\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What began as demonstrations against politicised admission quotas for sought-after government jobs snowballed into some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A curfew has been imposed and soldiers are patrolling cities across the South Asian country, while a nationwide internet blackout since Thursday has drastically restricted the flow of information to the outside world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are suspending the shutdown protests for 48 hours,\u201d Nahid Islam, the top leader of the main protest organiser Students Against Discrimination, told AFP from his hospital bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was being treated for his injuries after being beaten by people he accused of being undercover police, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe demand that during this period the government withdraws the curfew, restores the internet and stops targeting the student protesters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe started this movement for reforming the quota,\u201d Islam said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut we did not want quota reform at the expense of so much blood, so much killing, so much damage to life and property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least 163 people have died in clashes, including several police officers, according to an AFP count of victims reported by police and hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sporadic violence continued on Monday, with four people brought to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital with bullet injuries, an AFP reporter at the scene saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government officials have repeatedly blamed the protesters and opposition for the unrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain told AFP that \u201cat least 532\u201d people had been arrested in the capital since protests began, including some leaders of the opposition Bangladesh National Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ali Riaz, a professor of politics and leading Bangladesh expert at Illinois State University, described the violence as \u201cthe worst massacre by any regime since independence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe atrocities committed in the past days show that the regime is entirely dependent on brute force and has no regard for the lives of the people,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese indiscriminate killings cannot be washed by a court ruling or a government announcement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus urged \u201cworld leaders and the United Nations to do everything within their powers to end the violence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere must be investigations into the killings that have taken place already,\u201d the 83-year-old said in a statement, his first public comments since the unrest began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The respected economist is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank but earned the enmity of Hasina, who has accused him of \u201csucking blood\u201d from the poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBangladesh has been engulfed in a crisis that only seems to get worse with each passing day,\u201d Yunus said. \u201cHigh school students have been among the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Diplomats in Dhaka questioned Bangladeshi authorities\u2019 deadly response to the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US ambassador Peter Haas told Mahmud he was presenting a one-sided version of events, according to a senior diplomatic official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am surprised you did not show the footage of police firing at unarmed protesters,\u201d the source quoted Haas as telling the minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A US embassy official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the ambassador\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The diplomatic source added that Mahmud did not respond to a question from a UN representative about the alleged use of UN-marked armoured personnel carriers and helicopters to suppress the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bangladesh is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping operations around the world \u2014 earning significant revenues from its efforts \u2014 and has UN-marked equipment in its military inventories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With around 18 million young people in Bangladesh out of work, according to government figures, the quota scheme\u2019s reintroduction deeply upset graduates facing an acute job crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dhaka (National Times) The Bangladeshi student group leading demonstrations that have spiralled into deadly violence suspended protests on Monday for 48 hours, with its leader saying they had not wanted reform \u201cat the expense of so much blood\u201d. What began as demonstrations against politicised admission quotas for sought-after government jobs snowballed into some of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n