Three prominent US Representatives Andy Kim, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jim McGovern have expressed their deep concern over the Bangladesh government’s ongoing violence against and killing of protestors.

In separate tweets on July 19, the representatives expressed their concerns. Representatives Kim and Ocasio-Cortez also called for restoration of the government-imposed communication blackout, including internet service and telecommunication. 

Representative Kim specifically expressed his deep concern over the reports of civilians being targeted and killed by government forces in Bangladesh. “Violence should never be an acceptable response to protests,” Kim stated. 

He urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina “to restore internet services and take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of civilians,” allowing a peaceful and constructive national dialogue about the country’s future.

Representative Ocasio-Cortez also voiced her outrage over dozens of protestors “killed by Bangladeshi authorities in recent days.” Pointing out the internet and telecommunication blackout imposed by the government, the U.S. representative from New York said, “My constituencies cannot reach their loved ones due to a government implemented communications blackout. I call for an end to the blackout and de-escalation of violence against protestors.”

Ocasio-Cortez made the call while sharing a Reuters’ tweet that reported widely disrupted telecommunications and the killings of people in Bangladesh. 

Representative McGovern emphasized the need for the government to protect the rights of its citizens, including the right to protest. He referred to the right to protest as a human right and called on the Bangladesh government to correct its course. “Countries cannot live in the past!” he states while sharing a New York Times tweet of a news report titled “Why deadly protests are roiling Bangladesh.”

Their statements come in response to the recent violent actions of the Bangladesh government against student protests demanding reforms to the quota system in government jobs. The ongoing violence has resulted in at least 110 deaths in the past few days, according to the Washington Post. The blackout of internet and telecommunication services has disconnected Bangladesh from the rest of the world, leaving people in other countries unable to know the status of their loved ones in the country.