One Party dictetor Hasina Steps Down, Army says interim government to be formed! Bangladesh’s Flees Amid Deadly Mass Protests

Hasina Steps Down: Bangladeshi former dictetor PM Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday after weeks of deadly mass protests over the country’s controversial job quota system. Local media reported that she has since fled to India, though it is unclear if she intends to remain there or travel to a third country. The Bangladesh Army announced that it will oversee the formation of a caretaker government in the coming days. Hasina was reelected for her fourth straight term in January after the main opposition movement, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, boycotted the vote.

“The country is going through a revolutionary period,” said Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman, the army chief, adding that he will soon meet with President Mohammed Shahabuddin to discuss future leadership. In the interim, he called for peace and promised justice for those killed in the nation’s weekslong demonstrations.

Under the contentious quota policy, 30 percent of public sector jobs were reserved for families of those who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence against Pakistan. (Quotas were also in place for minorities and people with disabilities, though those were not considered as controversial.) Amid high inflation rates—and with nearly one-third of youth unemployed—many young people in Bangladesh felt that the quota system favored allies of Hasina’s ruling Awami League. Hasina held power for 20 of the last 30 years, making her one of the world’s longest-ruling female leaders. Some have accused her of trying to form a one-party state.

In 2018, violent demonstrations forced Dhaka to scrap the quota policy. But in June of this year, a Bangladeshi court revived the system, sparking a new wave of protests. The Supreme Court cut the quota down to 5 percent in July to meet marchers’ demands, but demonstrations continued—largely calling for Hasina to step down over the violence.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday after a government crackdown on violent student protests sparked a revolt against her rule.

• PM Hasina resigns and flies to India
• Army chief says interim govt will be formed soon
• Army chief asks people to be patient, promises justice
• Thousands celebrate in streets of Dhaka
• Hasina resignation follows violent protests

Hasina’s resignation comes a day after violent clashes between security forces and protesters that left at least 93 people, including more than a dozen police officers, dead.

This raised the death toll to more than 300 since the protests began in July. Sunday’s death toll was the highest for a single day since students took to the streets against the government’s controversial job policy. Authorities re-imposed an internet blackout and a curfew last night.

The violence escalated after protest leaders rejected an offer from Hasina on Saturday to open talks with the students, who instead demanded that she step down over the killings and the government’s brutal crackdown. The student protesters vowed to ensure the “fall of the government and the abolition of a fascist system.”

The protests began in early July after the High Court ordered the government to restore a 30 percent employment quota for descendants of freedom fighters from Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war.

Protesters argued that the quota system was discriminatory and benefited supporters of the ruling Awami League, while the government defended it as a way to honor veterans of the liberation war.

The protests turned violent on July 15, with the first deaths reported the following day. A curfew was imposed on July 19, and the army was called in to control the situation.

The government launched a crackdown on protesting students and opposition political parties, arresting over 9,000 people last week, according to police and rights groups.

After days of clashes, the Supreme Court watered down the quota system, directing that 93 percent of government jobs should be open to candidates on merit and only 5 percent reserved for war veterans and their relatives.

But protesters continued demanding accountability for the violence that they blame on the government’s use of excessive force.

Hasina, who ruled the country for more than 15 years, had returned to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by her main opponents. EFE

Around 300 people have been killed, including at least 32 children, and thousands more have been injured since the protests began, with almost 100 people killed on Sunday alone. Vandalism, arson, and violent attacks have targeted government buildings tied to the Awami League, and protesters stormed the prime minister’s official residence in Dhaka on Monday after Hasina fled the country.

“The shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop,” Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said on Sunday. Rights groups have accused Bangladeshi authorities of using excessive force against demonstrators, though the government denies such actions. Hasina had reportedly told police to “[resist] anarchists with iron hands.”

On Sunday, the government declared an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. as well as a three-day holiday, to begin Monday, to try to maintain order. However, the military then announced on Monday that the curfew would end at dawn on Tuesday and schools and businesses would reopen.

“Hasina’s critics hope that a new kind of leadership will emerge from this moment—not from the traditional political parties, but from the young citizens who spearheaded the movement,” Bangladesh expert Salil Tripathi wrote for Foreign Policy last month. Since Hasina returned to power in 2009, her victories have been marred by voter intimidation, charges of corruption and nepotism, and violence against political opponents. On Monday, the country’s president ordered the release of jailed former prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia.

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Adam Salonker

News Trends Reporter

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