Bangladesh’s incoming interim leader Yunus asks for calm as he is set to take oath Thursday
By Julhas Alam, The Associated Press on August 7, 2024.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Bangladesh’s incoming interim leader Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday asked his people to stay calm and get ready to rebuild the nation after weeks of violence that left hundreds killed, following an uprising that forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and flee to neighboring India. Yunus was on his way home from Paris on Wednesday. In his first statement since he was named as the head of an interim government, Yunus congratulated the students for “taking the lead in making our Second Victory Day possible.” He also appealed to them, members of political parties and other people to stay calm. Referring to acts of violence that happened after Hasina’s resignation, Yunus said, “Violence is our enemy. Please don’t create more enemies. Be calm and get ready to build the country.” Bangladesh’s military chief said Wednesday that the interim government headed by Yunus would be sworn in on Thursday night. Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a televised address that those responsible for violence since Hasina’s resignation would be brought to justice. The military chief – flanked by the chiefs of the navy and air force – said that he had spoken to Yunus and would receive him at the airport. Zaman said he was hopeful that Yunus would take the situation to a “beautiful democratic” process. Speaking to reporters in Paris, Yunus said “I’m looking forward to going back home and seeing what’s happening there, and how we can organize ourselves to get out of the trouble that we are in.”³ Asked when elections would be held, he put his hands up as if to indicate it was too early to say. “³I’ll go and talk to them. I’m just fresh in this whole area.”³ The latest development came after a tribunal in Dhaka earlier on Wednesday acquitted Yunus in a labor law violation case, involving a telecommunication company he founded, in which he was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. He was on bail in the case. On Wednesday, ailing opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia also urged all not to follow the path of destruction in Bangladesh as she addressed her supporters from a hospital bed at a rally in Dhaka. It was her first public speech since 2018, when she was convicted of corruption charges and jailed. “No destruction, no anger, and no revenge, we need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she said using a video link. The rally by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came a day after Zia’s release from house arrest. Her son and the acting head of the party, Tarique Rahman also addressed the crowd online from London, where he has been living in exile since 2008. Rahman faces several criminal cases and was convicted of corruption and a grenade attack, charges dismissed by supporters as politically motivated. Zia, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2006, was convicted on corruption charges in 2018 and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Her party said the charges were designed to keep her away from politics. On Wednesday, the streets of Dhaka, the capital, were calm two days after violence gripped the country amid Hasina’s sudden departure. The students were seen cleaning streets and managing traffic in parts of Dhaka as police including traffic police disappeared amid violent attacks on police stations in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country. Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a symbolic figure who is acting as the chief executive now under the constitution, also asked the security officials on Wednesday to take stern action against troublemakers. The country’s newly appointed police chief Mainul Islam ordered police officers to return to work by Thursday evening to protect the people’s lives and property. The Bangladesh Police Association went on strike after police stations and security officials were attacked across the country Monday. The president dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the path for an interim administration that is expected to schedule new elections but it’s not clear when those elections will take place. Shahabuddin named Yunus as the head of an interim government, in consultation with the army and student leaders. He has been a longtime opponent of Hasina. An economist and banker, Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets. Violence in days surrounding Hasina’s resignation killed at least 109 people – including 14 police officers, and left hundreds of others injured, according to media reports, which could not be independently confirmed. Reports said more attacks took place across the country also on Tuesday. The looting of firearms was also reported in local media. In the southwestern district of Satkhira, 596 prisoners and detainees escaped from a jail after an attack on the facility Monday evening, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported. Many of the homes of the ministers and MPs for the ruling party were looted, torched or vandalized. People were seen on social media taking valuables from the home of Hasina’s younger sister in Dhaka’s Gulshan area. Four separate neighbors told The Associated Press that the lootings took place at her home. Local media also reported that many of the dead in two days of violence since her resignation included ruling party officials, mostly outside Dhaka. There were also reports of violence against Hindu leaders and other minorities. Those details could not be independently confirmed. Opposition politicians have publicly called on people not to attack minority groups, while student leaders asked supporters to guard Hindu temples and other places of worship. The unrest began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs, which critics said favored people with connections to her party. But they soon grew into a broader challenge to Hasina’s 15-year rule, which was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, allegations of rigged elections and a brutal crackdown on her opponents. More than 300 people died in just a few weeks. The quick move to choose Yunus came after 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 military wields significant influence in a country that has seen more than 20 coups or coup attempts since its independence from Pakistan in 1971. Military chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman said Monday he had taken temporary control while a new government is formed. Many fear that Hasina’s departure could trigger even more instability in the densely populated nation of some 170 million people, which is already dealing with high unemployment, corruption and climate change. Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January, an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the United States and the United Kingdom denounced the result as not credible. – – Associated Press writers Andrea Rosa and Ahmed Hatem contributed to this report from Paris. 32-31
