The students were agitating because a high court last month overturned a decision by Hasina’s government to scrap 56 per cent quotas in government jobs, reinstating them during an unemployment crisis in the country.
But the protests stopped after the Supreme Court on Sunday ruled in favour of an appeal from the government and scrapped most quotas, directing that 93 per cent of jobs should be open to competition.
The United Nations, international rights groups, the US and Britain were among those who criticised the use of force against the protesters and asked Dhaka to uphold the right to peaceful protests.
“We have raised our concern about the situation in Bangladesh with relevant authorities in Dhaka and New York and also sought clarity regarding reports that some UN-marked vehicles may have been used during recent events,” Farhan Haq, a deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told Reuters.
He said countries that contribute troops and police to UN peacekeeping are to use UN insignia and equipment marked with UN insignia only when they are performing mandated tasks as UN peacekeepers.
Bangladesh is the third largest troop and police contributor to the UN peacekeeping mission, after Nepal and Rwanda.
