Editor-DN
Muhammad Yunus stood with students and civil society leaders in the new “consultative” cabinet.
Dhaka:
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus paid a lavish tribute to Bangladesh’s independence heroes in the first act of his interim government on Friday, after a student-led uprising forced predecessor Sheikh Hasina into exile.
A day after returning home from Europe and pledging to “uphold, support and protect the constitution” as he took the oath of office, Yunus, 84, launched a tough challenge to return the country to democracy.
Hasina, 76, who is accused of widespread human rights abuses including jailing her political opponents, fled by helicopter to neighboring India on Monday as protesters protested her 15-year rule on the streets of Dhaka. Ended dramatically.
The military announced his resignation and then agreed to student demands that Yunus — who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his groundbreaking microfinancing work — lead an interim government.
Yunus, who has assumed the title of “chief adviser” to a caretaker administration made up of fellow civilians, a retired Brigadier General Bar, has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.
It is not clear when polling may take place.
Officials from Hasina’s former ruling party Awami League have gone into hiding after some of their offices were torched in revenge attacks, while former opposition groups such as the main Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are back after years of repression. are building
‘Victory Day’
The new administration faces a difficult task.
A veteran economist has called for peace to be restored in the South Asian country after weeks of violence that left at least 455 people dead, urging citizens to protect each other, including minorities who are under attack. I come
In the pouring rain, Yunus stood quietly with students and civil society leaders in the new “consultative” cabinet on Friday.
Together, the group laid a wreath in the red and green colors of the national flag at the main memorial in memory of the millions who died in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.
Arriving in Dhaka on Thursday, Younis suggested that Hasina’s ouster was as important as the conflict that brought Bangladesh into being.
“Bangladesh has created a new day of victory,” he told reporters. Bangladesh got its second independence.
Many of Yunus’ advisers are linked to the BNP, led by Hasina’s longtime rival and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, 78, who was released from years of detention.
Among them are the student leaders who started the protest.
Yunus wrote in The Economist this week that his country needs a new generation of leaders “who are not obsessed with settling scores, as were many of our previous governments.”
However, Hasina’s son Sajib Wazeed Joy told The Times of India newspaper that his mother still hopes to run for political office.
He said that when the interim government decides to hold elections, they will go back to Bangladesh.
‘peace and order’
Hasina’s flight abroad has fueled resentment towards India, which played a decisive military role in securing Bangladesh’s independence but has also supported Hasina.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to offer his “best wishes” to Yunus on Thursday, moments after he was sworn in, saying New Delhi was “committed” to working with neighboring Dhaka.
On Friday, India’s arch-rival Pakistan also said it hoped it could boost ties with Dhaka, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailing Yunus for his “great success in leading Bangladesh to a harmonious and prosperous future.” “Wanted to.
China said on Friday that it also welcomed the interim government, pledging to work with the country to “promote exchanges and cooperation”.
Farida Akhtar, an adviser to the interim government, told AFP the group would also visit the memorial in Dhaka where student protests began last month.
“We are paying our respects there, as the student movement started there,” he said before naming the top task on his to-do list.
He said that our first priority is law and order.
(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
