How Bangladesh’s President Sheikh Hasina was ousted

Bangladesh’s increasingly authoritarian leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Monday and fled the country after weeks of unrest.

Hasina returns to India on military helicopter Earlier, people broke into the prime minister’s residence in the capital Dhaka in violation of the curfew.After weeks of bloody protests.

The movement that ultimately toppled her began with students frustrated by a lack of job prospects and quickly spread to ordinary Bangladeshis facing increasingly dire economic conditions. But the scenes of jubilation in the capital, Dhaka, came at a huge cost; about 300 people have died since protests began in June, and the country’s future remains uncertain as a military-backed caretaker government steps in.

After fifteen years in power, Hasina’s legacy is mixed. On the one hand, her government built modern infrastructure and improved development opportunities, especially for the poor. But she also intensified her crackdown on the press and opposition, and over time, on all forms of dissent.

Army General Waqer Uzizaman announced on Monday that the military has taken control of the government; parliament will be dissolved and the government is making plans for new elections.

“This country is going through a revolutionary period.” Zaman says “We ask you to have faith in the army of this nation,” he said in a nationally televised address. “Please do not return to the path of violence. Please return to the path of non-violence, of peace.”

Despite the victory of the People Power Movement, which ousted Hasina, the young democracy is entering a period of great uncertainty; indeed, it is anyone’s guess what will happen next in Bangladesh.

Hasina belongs to one of Bangladesh’s two political dynasties, which have been vying for power since the country’s turbulent and bloody founding in 1971. Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a freedom fighter often called the father of Bangladesh, was assassinated in 1975, forcing Hasina into exile in India.

However, driven by family connections, Hasina was first elected prime minister in 1996 and served until 2001, when her rival, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was elected. He was released from house arrest on Monday at the request of President Mohammad Shahabuddin.

Hasina and Zia, leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Hasina’s widow Former Prime Minister Ziaur Rahmanare the only two democratically elected leaders of Bangladesh since 1991. Until January this year, The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and 19 other parties formed a massive alliance to fight against the Awami League And boycott the January 7 election.

This intense polarization — the Awami League versus everyone else — is part of the reason for the protests. Another part is economic. For many of the country’s educated young people, the path to stability means a government job, which is increasingly impossible. Protesters blame a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of soldiers from the 1971 war of independence — but protesters complain that it benefits Awami League members and allies.

Hasina deserves credit for promoting an economic boom soon after she came to power for the second time in 2008. “The government has achieved relatively strong economic results in the 15 years it has been in power.” Geoffrey MacDonald“Development is accelerating, infrastructure is advancing, income rates are rising, and many human development indicators are surpassing many of our neighbors,” the United States Institute of Peace guest expert told Vox.

But “Bangladesh’s economic growth is concentrated in areas such as textiles, which are not big employment areas for university graduates.” Paul Staniland“So this quota system is seen as artificially limiting job opportunities for educated people,” a University of Chicago political science professor told Vox.

But Bangladesh’s economic problems are not limited to the middle class; like many other countries in South Asia and around the world, Bangladeshis are also struggling with high inflation— About 9.9% As of this writing, it is becoming even more difficult for ordinary people to afford basic living expenses.

Politically, Bangladeshis are also fed up. Elections in 2018 and January were widely seen as fraudulent, and people no longer feel they have the right to choose a government that meets their needs.

“This process of authoritarian statehood did go on for five or six years, during which Sheikh Hasina did go after many of her enemies, whether they were members of the British National Party, whether they were liberal dissidents, whoever they were — and it really solidified her rule and personalized it,” Stanley Anders said. “So that has also persisted in the recent election, which, you know, was widely viewed as very abnormal.”

These facts, combined with the government’s extremely violent crackdown on protesters, sparked a nationwide movement that successfully ousted Hasina.

“We expected some kind of crisis, but I didn’t expect her to leave because she has a very strong character,” Fabeha Monir, an independent journalist living in Dhaka, told Vox. But the police response “escalated in a way and then escalated to a level that was intolerable, not even for the state.”

Mid-JulyThe police then began to crack down on protesters, imposing curfews and shootings on the spot. The government also blocked internet and mobile phone access.

The protest movement and Hasina’s departure will go down as one of the defining events in Bangladesh’s history, with the creation of Bangladesh, the assassination of Hasina’s father and the restoration of democracy in 1991.

The details of Hasina’s resignation and exile are still to be ascertained, but the protests could not have developed to the extent they did—culminating in thousands storming Hasina’s residence—without the military’s tacit approval, or at least its refusal to suppress them as Hasina wished.

“So many armed students died, and everyone started blaming our military,” Monnier said. “So they started supporting (the protesters) for a few days.”

Staniland said the military has been powerful throughout Bangladesh’s history, and while Hasina appears to have reined in its power to some extent during her tenure, the military appears to have retained some independence.

“My guess is that the military didn’t want to kill hundreds or thousands of people just to stop the next wave of protests,” he said. “That’s what triggered her departure.”

While there is real excitement about Hasina leaving office, there is also great concern about what happens next. In the best-case scenario for a democracy, a caretaker government can ensure that the elections bring real progressive reforms. However, this is far from certain. The military could remain in power, or a more right-wing Islamist faction could seize the government.

The biggest worry now is the spread of violence – this time, targeting not only protesters but also Awami League supporters, especially those belonging to minority groups.

Bangladesh is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. Although the British National Party Leaning toward political Islam and being more conservative, the secular Awami League appeals to religious minorities in a Muslim-majority society and to ethnic minorities such as Myanmar’s Rohingya, whose government sought to support the Rohingya when they began arriving as refugees in 2017.

“I think we’re likely to see a lot of reprisals against local Awami League officials — police and security officials who defend the government,” Mr. McDonald said. “Hindus are a historical constituency of the Awami League. And there are lingering tensions between religious groups.”