Bangladesh protesters issue demands amid shaky calm

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Bangladesh protesters issue demands amid shaky calm
Protesters in Bangladesh have issued demands amid a lull in the violence that has filled the streets in recent days after the government backed down on quotas on hiring for government jobs.

Student leaders said on Monday that they plan to continue demonstrations despite a decision by the Supreme Court the previous day scaling back the controversial job quota system that sparked the protests. A deadly government crackdown ahead of the ruling saw a reported 163 people killed, hundreds arrested, and thousands injured.

The demonstrators have demanded that the government release protest leaders, lift the military curfew, and reopen the universities, which have been shut since Wednesday. They said they would give the government 48 hours to meet the demands.

Protesters were attacked by security forces, as well as other students who back the ruling Awami League party, last week as they launched their call against the quota system, which sought to reserve sought-after government jobs for relatives of war veterans and other groups.

Although the court has largely annulled the quotas, the protesters have demanded accountability for the crackdown, including the resignation of ministers.

They have also called for swift formalisation of the ruling. Law Minister Anisul Huq promised on Sunday that the government would implement the changes to the legislation within days.

As on Sunday, the military curfew that was implemented during the protests was relaxed for several hours on Monday to allow people to buy essentials. However, internet connections remained severed for a fourth straight day in the nation of 170 million.

After a call for a nationwide shutdown on Monday by the protesters, soldiers continued to roam the streets and tanks were stationed across the streets of the capital Dhaka. No more fatalities or large-scale gatherings had been reported by the late afternoon as a tentative calm persisted.

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