Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met and condoled with the family members of those killed in the violence in Bangladesh amid an anti-quota protest.
"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today met and condoled the family members of those killed in the violence and barbaric attacks by Jamaat-BNP terrorists during the recent quota agitation. The meeting took place at the Gana Bhavan and the Prime Minister handed over cheques for financial help," a statement from the Bangladesh Government said,
Earlier this week, the Bangladesh Prime Minister had explained her earlier comment on "razakars", when the anti-quota protests began.
"They have a problem with Mukti Joddhas and their families. (Freedom Fighters). They have protested against something I said. What did I say? They have twisted my words. I said, merit or quota. There are women's quotas, district quotas, mukti joddha families quota, those I have cancelled. Even then they say no quota, merit. What is the difference between quota and merit? It is all merit here," she had said.
"First, there are preliminary exams held. Then there are written exams. If they pass in written exams, there is a viva. After viva, during recruitment, those who are meritorious, are chosen. And then the quotas are also divided. Those who are meritorious after taking exams are being chosen. In that context I said, are mukti joddha families' children not meritorious? Are only razakar's children meritorious," Sheikh Hasina added.
She blamed the protesters in Bangladesh for twisting her statement and said that it was the protesters who identified themselves as "razakars".
"After this, they started their slogans. I held a press conference at 4:00 PM and at around 11 I saw boys coming out. What were their slogans? They are razakars. Who are You? Who am I? Razakar Razakar. Your Father, My Father, Razakar Razakar. They identified themselves as razakars. I did not call them razakars. They raised slogans and identified themselves as razakars for everyone," she said.
Anti-Quota protests, primarily against the quotas set aside for children and grandchildren of Mukti Joddhas (freedom fighters) have led to bloodshed and chaos on the streets of Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh. Several state properties including newly built Metro stations were set on fire and the administration clamped down heavily to bring the situation under control.
The word razakars has been used in Bangladesh to describe Bangladeshis who sided with the oppressive Pakistani government which was ousted by Muktijoddhas (Freedom Fighters) led by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, Sheikh Hasina's father, following the 1971 Liberation War which led to the birth of the nation. It is a pejorative term used to describe a Pakistani paramilitary force that committed war crimes and genocide, including massacring civilians, raping lakhs of women and looting during the 1971 war.
