Bangladesh curfews, internet blackout batter economy amid quota protests

The South Asian country is estimated to have lost $1.2bn in revenue over the past five days with its vital garment exports sector hit badly.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – During a nationwide curfew and with the army on the streets, an unlikely group of people gathered at Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s office with demands – not student protesters who have been seeking an end to job quotas, but industry leaders.

The country’s top business owners asked Hasina on Monday to withdraw the curfew and restore internet service, which has been down for days as part of a complete communications blackout. They pleaded with her to have the army provide security for the Dhaka-Chattogram highway — the economic lifeline that connects the capital to the country’s main port city — amid fears of vandalism.

Hasina told them her government was forced to impose the curfew and deploy the army across the nation to “save lives and properties of people”. “It [the curfew] will be gradually relaxed,” she said.

But for millions of Bangladeshi workers, business owners and thousands of companies, “gradually” might not be good enough.

For nearly two weeks, student protesters and security forces have been locked in a tense standoff, and violent clashes have killed at least 146 people. The protests started out against quotas — primarily against the 30 percent of government jobs reserved for descendants of people who found in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. On Sunday, the Bangladesh Supreme Court significantly shrunk the quotas, but the students have released a list of eight demands, focused on seeking justice for their comrades killed in the violence. The government-imposed curfew remains in place, as does the internet block.

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