Protests continue in Bangladesh amid outrage over crackdown

Thousands of people from all walks of life gathered in Bangladesh s capital to demand justice for more than 200 students and others killed in a wave o...

Thousands of people from all walks of life gathered in Bangladesh’s capital to demand justice for more than 200 students and others killed in a wave of violence last month amid protests against a controversial quota system for government jobs.

The protesters chanted anti-government slogans, such as "Justice, Justice, We want justice” and "Resignation, resignation, Sheikh Hasina’s resignation,” as the wave of protest widened beyond students. Elsewhere in Dhaka, hundreds of others including students, parents, doctors and teachers rallied.

The protest was peaceful as processions streamed toward the central Shaheed Minar, a monument to people killed in 1952 during a protest demanding that the then-ruling Pakistani government recognize Bengali as a state language.

Bangladesh was the eastern part of Pakistan until it won independence in 1971 through a bloody war, aided by India.

As protests continued to spread, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday offered to talk with student leaders, but a coordinator refused in a Facebook post.