Nobel laureate and chief adviser of Bangladesh's new interim government, Muhammad Yunus, greets the public after laying a wreath at the National Martyrs' Memorial in Dhaka on Aug 9. PHOTO: AFP
Aug 10, 2024
DHAKA - Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus appealed for religious unity on Aug 10 as he embraced the weeping mother of a student shot dead by police, a flashpoint in mass protests that ended Ms Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule.
Nobel laureate Dr Yunus, 84, returned from Europe this week to helm a temporary administration facing the monumental challenge of ending disorder and enacting democratic reforms.
“Our responsibility is to build a new Bangladesh,” he told reporters.
Several reprisal attacks against the country’s Hindu minority since autocratic former premier Hasina’s toppling have caused alarm in neighbouring India as well as fear at home.
“Don’t differentiate by religion,” Dr Yunus said.
He called for calm during a visit to the northern city of Rangpur by invoking the memory of Mr Abu Sayeed, the first student slain during July’s unrest.
“Abu Sayeed is now in every home. The way he stood, we have to do the same,” he added. “There are no differences in Abu Sayeed’s Bangladesh.”
Mr Sayeed, 25, was shot dead by police at close range on July 16 at the start of a police crackdown on student-led protests against Ms Hasina’s government.
His mother sobbed as she clung to a visibly emotional Dr Yunus, who had come to pay his respects alongside members of the “advisory” Cabinet now administering the country.
Fellow Cabinet member Nahid Islam, a 26-year-old sociology graduate who led the protests that culminated in Ms Hasina’s ouster, wept by the leader’s side.
Ms Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India on Aug 5 as protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted rule.
Her government was accused of widespread human rights abuses including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.
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‘Safety and protection’
In the immediate aftermath of Ms Hasina’s fall, some businesses and homes owned by Hindus were attacked, a group seen by some in Muslim-majority Bangladesh as having been her supporters.
Bangladeshi Hindus account for around 8 per cent of the country’s population.
Hundreds have since arrived at India’s border, asking to be let in.
Ms Hasina’s flight has heightened rancour towards India, which played a decisive military role in securing Bangladesh’s independence, but also backed her to the hilt.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Aug 8 called for the “safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities”.
More than 450 people were killed in the unrest leading up to Ms Hasina’s departure, including dozens of police officers killed during clampdowns on demonstrations.
The caretaker administration Dr Yunus helms has said that restoration of law and order is its “first priority”.
Complicating its efforts is a strike declared on Aug 6 by the police union, saying its members would not return to work until their safety was assured.
Bangladesh’s police force said more than half of the country’s police stations had reopened by Aug 10.
The buildings are being guarded by soldiers from the army, an institution held in higher public regard than the police for opting not to forcibly quell the protests.
“We are happy that police are returning to their duty,” university pupil Umar Faruk, 22, told AFP.
“Police are needed to maintain law and order. But it’s also a matter of concern for us whether the police can gain the trust of the people.”
Two attempted jailbreaks were staged at prisons north of the capital Dhaka this week, with more than 200 inmates fleeing one facility.
Dr Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in micro-finance, credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis out of grinding poverty.
He took office on Aug 8 as “chief adviser” to a caretaker administration comprised of fellow civilians, bar one retired brigadier-general, and has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.
He will have further challenges with media also reporting that other key officials have also departed their posts.
Bloomberg News reported on Aug 10 that Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder has resigned, citing people familiar with the matter.
Yunus urges Bangladeshis to ‘get ready to build the country’
What is Bangladesh's caretaker leader Yunus' economic thinking?
‘Safety and protection’
In the immediate aftermath of Ms Hasina’s fall, some businesses and homes owned by Hindus were attacked, a group seen by some in Muslim-majority Bangladesh as having been her supporters.
Bangladeshi Hindus account for around 8 per cent of the country’s population.
Hundreds have since arrived at India’s border, asking to be let in.
Ms Hasina’s flight has heightened rancour towards India, which played a decisive military role in securing Bangladesh’s independence, but also backed her to the hilt.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Aug 8 called for the “safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities”.
More than 450 people were killed in the unrest leading up to Ms Hasina’s departure, including dozens of police officers killed during clampdowns on demonstrations.
The caretaker administration Dr Yunus helms has said that restoration of law and order is its “first priority”.
Complicating its efforts is a strike declared on Aug 6 by the police union, saying its members would not return to work until their safety was assured.
Bangladesh’s police force said more than half of the country’s police stations had reopened by Aug 10.
The buildings are being guarded by soldiers from the army, an institution held in higher public regard than the police for opting not to forcibly quell the protests.
“We are happy that police are returning to their duty,” university pupil Umar Faruk, 22, told AFP.
“Police are needed to maintain law and order. But it’s also a matter of concern for us whether the police can gain the trust of the people.”
Two attempted jailbreaks were staged at prisons north of the capital Dhaka this week, with more than 200 inmates fleeing one facility.
Dr Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in micro-finance, credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis out of grinding poverty.
He took office on Aug 8 as “chief adviser” to a caretaker administration comprised of fellow civilians, bar one retired brigadier-general, and has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.
He will have further challenges with media also reporting that other key officials have also departed their posts.
Bloomberg News reported on Aug 10 that Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder has resigned, citing people familiar with the matter.
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Bangladesh PM Hasina did not resign before fleeing to Delhi, says son
The resignation comes days after protesters stormed the central bank’s headquarters.
Mr Talukder stepped down on Aug 9 and cited “personal reasons” for the departure, the report added citing unnamed sources.
The chief justice of Bangladesh’s top court also said he had agreed to resign “in principle” after an ultimatum to do so from protesters, broadcaster Jamuna TV reported.
Mr Obaidul Hassan, who was appointed to helm the Supreme Court in 2023 and is seen as a Hasina loyalist, was told to step down by protesters who gathered outside the court in Dhaka.
“No one should do anything that pits the Supreme Court against the mass uprising of the students and the people,” Mr Asif Nazrul, a student protest leader now serving in Dr Yunus’ government, told reporters. AFP, REUTERS
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