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After three weeks of unrest and bloody clashes between protesters and police forces that left more than 300 people dead and thousands arrested, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid left the country for India by helicopter with her sister to quell the situation. The 15-year rule kicked off and she began her work… A pro-democracy icon, she is also credited with overseeing the development of Bangladesh’s economy, which has grown by around 6% in recent years. Over the years, she has faced charges of misrule, disappearances, suppression of the opposition and arrests including former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who was released on the decision of President Mohammad Shahabuddin after Sheikh Hasina stepped down.
The recent unrest, marked by violence, began on July 11 and spread across several cities over a government quota system for hiring university graduates. Although the Supreme Court lifted most of the quotas, demonstrations and clashes continue, demanding justice for the dead and Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
After Sheikh Hasina left, the Bangladesh Army announced its resignation, calling on citizens to stop violence and trust the army. Army Chief Waqar Zaman confirmed that talks were being held with political parties and students to form a transitional government, that the curfew had been lifted, and called for the opening of factories, schools, colleges and offices.
After the military took power, it is unclear whether its promise to form a new government will be fulfilled in the short term or whether it will use the lack of security as an excuse to prolong the transition period. Bangladesh, like Pakistan, has a long history of coups. In January 2007, after widespread political unrest and government paralysis, the military declared a state of emergency and formed a caretaker government, which remained in power for two years.
There are concerns that if the military does not quickly form a new civilian government and work towards a peaceful, orderly and democratic transfer of power, Bangladesh will be plunged into the unknown, as otherwise unrest could return.
Students who have led demonstrations in recent weeks after Sheikh Hasina stepped down have called for the formation of an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. “We will not accept a government supported or led by the military other than the one we recommend,” said one student leader.
In 2006, Yunus won the Nobel Prize for helping millions of Bangladeshis escape poverty by providing microloans worth less than $100 to poor people in remote rural areas through the “poverty bank” he founded.
Yunus, who is in Paris, is apparently a supporter of the recent uprising in the country, describing it in a recorded interview with India’s Times Now channel as Bangladesh’s “second liberation day” after the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
How Bangladesh can emerge from the crisis? This may become clear in a few days.
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