Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the newly appointed chief of Bangladesh’s interim authorities, paid a solemn tribute to the nation’s fallen independence heroes on Friday, marking his first act in workplace.
This gesture adopted a student-led rebellion that drove his predecessor, Sheikh Hasina, into exile.
Just a day after getting back from Europe and pledging to “uphold, support, and protect the constitution” upon his swearing-in, the 84-year-old Yunus launched into the difficult journey of restoring democracy to the nation.
Sheikh Hasina, 76, who confronted allegations of human rights abuses and the imprisonment of political rivals, fled to neighboring India by helicopter on Monday as protesters surged by Dhaka’s streets, ending her 15-year rule dramatically.
The army introduced her resignation after which agreed to pupil calls for that Yunus – who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work – lead an interim authorities.
Yunus, who has taken the title of “chief advisor” to a caretaker administration made up of civilians aside from one retired brigadier normal, has stated he needs to carry elections “within a few months.” When the polls would possibly happen is unclear.
Officials from Hasina’s former ruling occasion, the Awami League, have gone into hiding after revenge assaults resulted in a few of their places of work being torched. Former opposition teams, such because the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), are rebuilding after years of repression.
Victory day
The new administration faces a frightening process. The veteran economist has referred to as for the restoration of order within the South Asian nation after weeks of violence that left at the very least 455 folks useless. He has urged residents to guard each other, together with minorities who got here beneath assault.
In driving rain, Yunus stood silently on Friday alongside pupil and civil society leaders within the new “advisory” cupboard tasked with steering democratic reforms. Together, they laid a wreath within the red-and-green colours of the nationwide flag on the foremost memorial commemorating the thousands and thousands who died in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation conflict towards Pakistan.
Yunus urged upon his arrival in Dhaka on Thursday that Hasina’s ouster was as important because the battle that led to Bangladesh’s creation. “Bangladesh has created a new victory day,” he informed reporters. “Bangladesh has got a second independence.”
Several of Yunus’ advisers are loosely affiliated with the BNP, led by Hasina’s longtime rival and former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, who was just lately launched from years of home arrest. The group additionally contains pupil leaders who initiated the protests.
Yunus wrote in The Economist this week that his nation wanted a brand new technology of leaders “who are not obsessed with settling scores, as too many of our previous governments were.”
However, Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy informed the Times of India that his mom nonetheless hoped to contest political workplace. “She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election,” he stated.
Law and order
Hasina’s flight overseas has heightened tensions with India, which performed a decisive army position in securing Bangladesh’s independence but in addition supported Hasina.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the many first to supply his “best wishes” to Yunus on Thursday moments after he was sworn in, saying New Delhi was “committed” to working with neighboring Dhaka. Pakistan additionally expressed hopes of enhancing ties with Dhaka, with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif wishing Yunus “great success in guiding Bangladesh toward a harmonious and prosperous future.” China welcomed the interim authorities on Friday, promising to work with the nation “to promote exchange and cooperation.”
Farida Akhter, an adviser to the interim authorities, informed Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the group would additionally go to a monument in Dhaka the place the coed protests started final month. “We are paying our respects there, as the student movement started from there,” she stated, earlier than outlining the highest precedence on their to-do checklist.
“Our first priority is law and order,” she stated.
Source: www.dailysabah.com