World Courant
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned, ending 15 years of what the opposition described as “authoritarian rule,” and sparking celebrations throughout the nation.
Common Waker-uz-Zaman, the military chief of employees, mentioned in a press release Monday that an interim authorities would come to energy with fast impact and requested residents to keep up confidence within the navy.
“I request all of you to have a little bit endurance, give us a while and collectively we are able to clear up all the issues,” Zaman mentioned. “Please don’t return to the trail of violence, and please return to nonviolent and peaceable methods.”
Hasina stepped down after weeks of protests over authorities job quotas spiraled into nationwide unrest. At the very least 280 individuals had been killed and 1000’s injured as the federal government cracked down on the demonstrations.
Hasina reportedly fled the nation in a navy helicopter on Monday to India, a robust ally of the previous chief. Video stories from native information media confirmed 1000’s of individuals storming the prime minister’s residence, chanting and singing in reward of the ransacking.
That is the background that led to this historic second:
What occurred on Sunday?
Greater than 90 individuals had been killed on Sunday alone as clashes between safety officers and protesters escalated and demonstrators referred to as for Hasina’s resignation.
Police fired rubber bullets and tear fuel into a big crowd of protesters in Shahbagh Sq. within the capital Dhaka. Protesters within the northwestern district of Sirajganj additionally attacked a police station, killing at the least 13 officers.
Sunday noticed the best single-day dying toll since protests broke out final month.
Authorities imposed a no-shoot-at-sight curfew from 6:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT) on Sunday and flooded the streets with police and navy models to revive order.
However 1000’s of individuals took to the streets early Monday morning, regardless of the curfew, though there have been stories of clashes exterior the capital.
However when protesters started handing flowers to the military round midday and officers in flip hugged the demonstrators, it was clear that one thing had rapidly modified, mentioned Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka.
“Individuals are relieved that this brutal repression is lastly over. It is recreation over for Hasina.”
What was the unique reason behind the protests?
The protests started in Dhaka in July and had been initially led by college students indignant over the court docket’s reinstatement of a job quota system that was revoked in 2018.
The coverage reserved 30 p.c of presidency jobs for descendants of veterans who fought within the 1971 battle of independence from Pakistan, most of whom are affiliated with Hasina’s Awami League celebration, which led the independence motion.
One other 26 p.c of jobs had been allotted to girls, individuals with disabilities and ethnic minorities, leaving about 3,000 positions open for which 400,000 civil service graduates sat the examination. A fifth of Bangladesh’s 170 million individuals are unemployed.
The anti-quota protests intensified after Hasina referred to as the demonstrators “Razakars”, a reference to individuals who collaborated with Pakistan through the 1971 battle.
Greater than 180 individuals had been killed from July 10 to twenty in a number of the worst unrest throughout Hasina’s 15-year time period, as police mentioned protesters destroyed property and set fireplace to authorities buildings, together with a nationwide tv station.
On July 21, the Supreme Court docket revoked the quota coverage and dominated that 93 p.c of the roles will as a substitute be open to candidates primarily based on their advantage.
However the protests continued unabated as college students and different residents gathered in a brand new wave of demonstrations, calling for justice for the useless and pushing for a brand new, distinctive demand: that Hasina step down.
Hasina and members of her cupboard sounded defiant till the tip, accusing opposition forces of fomenting the protests. On Sunday, Hasina referred to as the protesters “terrorists.”
Why was Hasina unpopular?
The world’s longest-serving feminine chief, Hasina, 76, is the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She was first elected prime minister in 1996 and once more in 2009, holding the workplace for a complete of 20 years.
Though Hasina received her fourth consecutive time period on this yr’s elections, she was accused of muzzling opposition forces and different types of dissent, orchestrating disappearances and arranging extrajudicial killings. Hasina has denied the fees.
However as pupil protests in July grew extra brutal, chanting “One, two, three, 4, Sheikh Hasina is a dictator,” analysts speculated that Hasina may not survive the largest problem to her rule.
“A dictator has fallen,” political analyst Mubashar Hassan, who says he has been residing in exile in Australia for years, advised Al Jazeera on Monday as information of Hasina’s ouster broke and tv footage confirmed protesters in Dhaka climbing a big statue of Hasina’s father and hacking off Hasina’s head with an axe.
“That is an unimaginable second. This is sort of a second independence of Bangladesh,” he mentioned. “(Bangladesh is) shackled by the tyranny of Sheikh Hasina and her regime. I’ve not been in a position to return to Bangladesh since 2018, and hopefully I’ll see my household once more quickly.”
Was the deployment of the military the turning level?
Based on Hassan, the federal government’s resolution to deploy the navy towards the protesters gave the impression to be the turning level that led to the autumn of Hasina’s regime.
The navy is essentially seen as a impartial entity in Bangladesh and is trusted and revered by most individuals. In 2008, when an election disaster plunged the nation right into a political stalemate, the navy intervened and ensured that elections had been held in December of that yr.
Because the protests escalated, the navy was cautious in its statements and appeared to stay impartial.
However on Friday, former navy personnel voiced help for the protests, criticizing the choice to withdraw border patrol models to quell the demonstrations. Former military chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan even coloured his Fb profile image purple in a present of help, hinting on the common temper within the navy.
One other tipping level, mentioned Professor Naomi Hossain of the UK’s Faculty of African and Oriental Research, was concern that “an absolute massacre” would get away on Monday as protesters rose up once more regardless of Sunday’s killings.
“There was a really real and well-founded concern that at the moment was going to be bloody,” she mentioned Monday. “… Individuals had been very afraid that at the moment was going to be a massacre, so it actually made the navy take into consideration what to do.”
What is going to the brand new authorities appear like and what can we anticipate?
Particulars of what the interim authorities will appear like are nonetheless unclear, however Zaman mentioned he’s holding talks with main political events, together with the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Social gathering.
It isn’t clear whether or not the navy will seize energy itself, as has occurred in a number of previous navy coups. Pupil activists have mentioned they’d reject navy rule.
“We won’t afford that. … We actually hope that the navy can preserve the peace and introduce some form of interim system that may convey us again to democracy,” Hossain mentioned.
Zaman additionally mentioned the deaths that occurred through the weeks-long protests can be investigated, as requires justice grew.
“I promise you all that we’ll do justice to all of the killings and injustice. We ask you to think about the nation’s military. I take full duty and I guarantee you that you’ll not be discouraged,” the overall mentioned.
In the meantime, Hasina and her sister have arrived in Agartala, the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Tripura, Indian media reported.
Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina pressured to resign: What occurred and what’s subsequent? | Sheikh Hasina Information
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