Bangladesh observes national mourning in memory of protest violence victims

By Faisal Mahmud

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - In apparent defiance of the Bangladeshi government's declared “mourning day,” profile photos of some social media users turned “red” on Tuesday, in protest against the violence during recent student demonstrations.

On Monday, the government announced a national day of mourning to honor those who lost their lives in recent protests over quota reforms in government jobs, urging people to wear black badges in tribute.

However, student protesters, who view the government's mourning declaration as insincere without addressing their demands that included a public apology from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and resignation of Home Minister Asaduzzmaan Khan, have called for people to wear “red” instead of “black” as a form of protest.

The government however amended the quota in government jobs, which was the original demand of the protesting students, but as more than 200 people were killed in a few days of violence, the students have remained adamant about their other new demands and vowed to continue the protest.

Even on Monday, a day after the six main coordinators declared the end of protest from “police custody,” thousands of students came down onto the streets at different parts of the country and chanted slogans against the government. More than 200 people were arrested, police sources confirmed.

On Tuesday, in support of the student movement, many people changed their social media profile photos to a blood-red color.

Tahia Farhin, an NGO employee who changed her Facebook profile to red, told Anadolu that students were ruthlessly killed by the police and armed student groups affiliated with the ruling party.

“I don’t believe the government’s mourning is genuine, so I’ve followed the students' call and turned my profile photo red,” she said.

Saiyed Abdullah, a social media influencer with 250,000 followers, also changed his profile photo to red, saying: “The red symbolizes the blood of our innocent brothers.”