Out in droves: An aerial view showing anti-government protesters storming Hasina’s palace in Dhaka. — AFP
The country’s president dissolved parliament, clearing the way for new elections to replace the long-time prime minister who resigned and fled the country following weeks of demonstrations against her rule that descended into violent unrest.
The streets of Dhaka appeared calmer yesterday, with no reports of new violence as jubilant protesters thronged the ousted leader’s residence.
Some posed for selfies with soldiers guarding the building where a day earlier angry protesters had looted furniture, paintings, flower pots and chickens.
As the country waited for a new government to emerge, a key student leader said protesters wanted Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus to head an interim government.
Yunus, who is currently in Paris for the Olympics, called Hasina’s resignation the country’s “second liberation day”.
He could not immediately be reached for comment, but student leader Nahid Islam said Yunus had agreed.
Bangladesh’s figurehead president and its top military commander said late Monday that an interim government would be formed soon to preside over new elections.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15 years in power ended with the leader and her sister boarding a helicopter for India, as thousands of protesters defied military curfew orders to march on her residence, which they later sacked along with buildings associated with her party and family.
Her departure came after protests against a quota system for government jobs grew into broader challenge to her 15-year rule as scores were killed in clashes between protesters, security forces and pro-government activists.
Military chief Gen Waker-uz-Zamam said earlier he was taking temporary control of the country, as soldiers tried to stem unrest.
The military wields significant political influence in Bangladesh, which has faced more than 20 coups or coup attempts since independence in 1971.
Earlier yesterday, protest leader Sarjis Alam said that they had asked the president to dissolve parliament by 3pm local time yesterday, and threatened to renew demonstrations otherwise as they seek to “repair the state.”
“We have proposed the name of Muhammad Yunus with his consent, now if someone else comes from among the MPs, we will not allow that to happen,” he said.
A long-time opponent of the ousted leader, Yunus was accused of corruption by her government and tried on charges he said were motivated by vengeance. He received the Nobel in 2006 for work pioneering microlending.
Amid celebrations, student Juairia Karim said it was a historic day: “Today we are getting what we deserve,” she said.
“Everyone is happy, everyone is cheerful.”
A statement from President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s office also said that Hasina’s arch rival, Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, had been freed from house arrest.
“She is now freed”, a BNP party spokesman, AKM Wahiduzzaman, said a day after orders to release her were given following the military taking control.
However, many Bangladeshis fear that Hasina’s departure could lead to even more instability in the nation, which is already dealing with crises from high unemployment to corruption to climate change.
Violence just before and after Hasina’s resignation left at least 109 people dead, including 14 police officers, and hundreds of others injured, according to media reports, which could not be independently confirmed.
In the 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, as police stations and security officials were attacked across the country.
Police in Dhaka mostly left their stations and assembled in a central barracks in fear of attacks after several stations were torched or vandalised.
A day later, the country’s key police association said its members were going on strike.
“Until the security of every member of the police is secured, we are declaring a strike,” the Bangladesh Police Association, which represents thousands of police officers, said in a statement yesterday, which also offered an apology for police actions against the protesters.
BNP yesterday urged people to exercise restraint in what it said was a “transitional moment on our democratic path”.
“It would defeat the spirit of the revolution that toppled the illegitimate and autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina if people decide to take the law into their own hands without due process,” Tarique Rahman, the party’s acting chairman, wrote on X.
Hasina landed at a military airfield near New Delhi on Monday after leaving Dhaka and met India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Indian Express newspaper reported.
The report said Hasina was taken to a safe house and is likely to travel to the United Kingdom. — Agencies
