The Prime Minister’s Disappearance and the Bombas: The Search for a Solution of the Past and Present in Bangladesh, when Sheikh Hasina Resigned
NEW DELHI, India — Bangladesh’s Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is set to return to Dhaka on Thursday to be sworn in as his country’s interim leader, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India Monday following widespread protests against her government.
Rioters burned down police stations and attacked homes and temples of minority Hindus in the protests. “The whole edifice has collapsed,” said Jyoti Rahman, an Australia-based economist who writes on Bangladeshi politics and economy, referring to Hasina’s government.
The quick move to select Yunus came when Hasina’s resignation created a power vacuum and left the future unclear for Bangladesh, which has a history of military rule, messy politics and myriad crises.
The students “were very clear,” said Thomas Kean of the International Crisis Group. “They were not going to accept the army or an army-backed government.”
Those concerns are alive in Bangladesh, where the institution has led 29 interventions in a country that is five decades old, according to Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House in London. The army chief made the announcement that the prime minister had resigned.
Typically in Bangladesh, an interim government rules for 90 days, and its job is to pave the way for elections. With her party destroyed for now, she wants to win elections that will almost certainly happen.
Many Bangladeshis were proud of how Hasina transformed the country, building roads and railways, and developing a large garment export industry. But her party could not resolve high youth unemployment.
Her downfall began after students protested against quota for government jobs for descendants of veterans of the 1971 war for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan. Students thought the ruling party was giving jobs to cronies. Bajpaee said you have this perfect storm of sorts.
The students who protested were attacked by Hasina’s loyalists. The violence resulted in the deaths of more than 300 people.
Remembering Dr. Yunus, the champion of microlending for the poor, and reminding the world to stay calm in the age of democracy
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work on microlending to the impoverished. But in June, he was indicted in Bangladesh by a special court in an embezzlement case of over $2 million. The case was politicallymotivated, according to the man who said the case was against him.
He traveled to Paris for the Olympic Games after being released on bail. He urged Bangladeshis to use their new victory well.
I appeal to everyone to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence,” he said in a statement on Wednesday via his nonprofit, the Yunus Center. There is a lot of exciting possibilities in this country. We must protect and make it a great place for our kids and future generations.
Grandmother and housewife Mina Sultana Neelu echoed that praise and hope: “Dr. Yunus is our proud son,” she said. I believe our country will become beautiful if we can move forward holding his hand.
The Violence During Hasina’s Resignation in Bangladesh and the Implications for the Indian Government and the Bangladeshi Civil Liberation Front
The deaths of more than 300 people in violence in Bangladesh in a span of weeks. Rising tensions in the days surrounding Hasina’s resignation created chaos, with police leaving their posts after being attacked. Police stopped working around the country after dozens of officers were killed. They threatened not to return unless their safety is ensured. The local media reported on the theft of firearms.
As the demonstrators neared, with no forces to prevent them, Hasina flew to neighboring India. She requested permission to come for the moment to India at short notice, according to that country’s foreign minister. We received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh.
There are concerns that a long stay in India could cause problems for the new government in Bangladesh.
The army chief announced in a press conference that an interim government would be formed. Even as he spoke, crowds rushed into the prime minister’s residence, some looting items like fish and Hasina’s clothes.
Protesters also tore down a statue of the founding father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Rioters torched a museum honoring his memory. There were a variety of jailbreaks.
Prominent military and civilian officials seen as loyal to Hasina’s party resigned or were expelled. The major general was taken into custody while attempting to leave the plane. The release of at least two men who had been held for eight years, was the result of protests outside of Bangladesh’s military intelligence agency, according to Human Rights Watch.
Hasina’s archrival, Khaleda Zia, who leads the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was freed after years of house arrest. Students and local residents guarded police stations and Hindu temples to prevent more attacks. They also directed traffic.
But elections need security, and rebuilding the police could take years, even though a new police chief has already been appointed, said Rahman. Bangladesh police announced an indefinite nationwide strike on Tuesday, fearing for their safety. The students are also demanding deep-seated reforms to prevent future governments from abusing the powers amassed during Hasina’s rule, said Kean.
Without reforms, Kean explained, the incoming government would have “no checks and balances. The judiciary, security forces and other entities would be under its control. It would “be able to use those to hold on to power and suppress opposition.”
The chaos began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favored people with connections to Hasina’s party. The demonstrations grew into a broader challenge to the 15-year rule of Hasina, which was marked by many human rights abuses, corruption, and allegations of rigged elections.
Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who acts as an adviser to his mother, vowed Wednesday that his family and the Awami League party would continue to be engaged in Bangladesh’s politics — a reversal from what he’d said earlier in the week after Hasina stepped down Monday and fled to India.
“The oldest democratic and largest party in Bangladesh is the Awami League,” Joy said. The Awami League is not dead. It is difficult to eliminate a group. We had said that our family would not engage in politics anymore. However, given the attacks on our leaders and activists, we cannot give up.”
The Second Victory Day of Bangladesh: Victory day of re-election of Sheikh Hasina in a “beautiful democratic process”
Residents of Dhaka carry sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons to guard their neighborhoods after reports of robberies. Communities used loudspeakers in mosques to alert people that robberies were occurring, as police remained off duty. The military had hotline numbers for people.
In an election boycotted by her main opponents, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was re-elected to a fourth consecutive term. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the U.S. and U.K. denounced the result as not credible.
There was an opponent to Bangladesh’s PM who called him a “bloodsucker” for using force to extract loan repayments from rural poor. Yunus has denied the allegations.
Students who led the uprising against Hasina were present at the airport to welcome him. The interim leader was earlier proposed by them to the country’s figurehead president, currently acting as the chief executive.
The interim leader was named after discussions among military officials, civic leaders, and the student activists who led the uprising. Yunus made his first public comments in the French capital on Wednesday before boarding a plane to return home.
The student protesters made “our second Victory Day possible,” and he urged them to remain peaceful, while condemning the violence that followed the resignation.
Bangladesh’s military chief, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman, said in a televised address on Wednesday that he expected Yunus to usher in a “beautiful democratic” process.
