Bangladesh News Roundup
Paramilitary Deployed, Protests Continue in Bangladesh
Students Clash, UN Calls for Calm
Bangladesh deployed a paramilitary force on Tuesday after at least five people were killed in violent protests over a government quota system for university admissions. The protests began last week and have spread to several universities across the country.
On Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the violence and called on all parties to exercise restraint. The commissioner also urged the government to respect the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
The protests have been met with a heavy-handed response from the authorities. Police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the students, and several people have been arrested.
The government has defended its use of force, saying that it is necessary to maintain order. However, rights groups have condemned the violence and called for an independent investigation.
The protests are the latest in a series of demonstrations against the government's quota system, which reserves a certain number of university places for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The system is popular with many Bangladeshis, but it has also been criticized for being unfair and opaque.
The government has said that it is willing to discuss reforms to the quota system, but it is not clear if this will be enough to quell the protests.
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