Students set Bangladesh’s state broadcaster on fire as violent protests rage

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Students reportedly set fire to the state television building in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka Thursday as violent clashes with police continued over protests against the country’s quota system for government jobs.

A video shared on Facebook by the television network, BTV, said “many” were trapped inside the building, as broadcasts were paused and employees evacuated, the BBC reported.

It was one of the deadliest days in weeks-long protests that have roiled a Bangladesh. Death toll reports varied, with local media saying at least 18 people have died, and thousands injured. The government reportedly shut off the country’s mobile internet services in response to the demonstrations.

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Students are demanding an end to the controversial quota system that reserves more than half of public-sector jobs for select groups, including 30% for family members of veterans of the 1971 War of Independence. Government jobs are highly sought after for their stability and pay, and students argue the quota system deprives hundreds of thousands of graduates from merit-based access to them.

The demonstrations intensified after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina refused to negotiate with the protesters, and referred to them using the term “razakar” — a word usually associated with collaborators of the Pakistani army during the 1971 war. However, local media reported Thursday that the government appeared ready to begin talks with the protesters.

The protests are the first significant challenge to Hasina since she won a fourth term this year, and are notable given their sheer size, and the fact that they are led not by the poorer working class, but by university students, a South Asia expert told Al Jazeera: “The fact that you have so many students who are so angry speaks to the desperation of finding jobs. They may not be desperately poor, but they still need to find good, stable jobs.”