Dubai: On a day of dramatic upheaval in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India after hundreds of thousands of protesters defied curfew and flooded the cities on Monday, ending her 15-year rule.
Shortly after, Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that Hasina had resigned and that the military would form an interim government.
“The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” Waker said in a broadcast on state television.
Following Hasina’s departure from Dhaka, 56 people were killed in violence as protesters stormed buildings, including Hasina’s palace, and looted goods and items. India’s ANI news agency reported that Hasina, 76, arrived at Hindon Air Base near New Delhi on a C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft.
There is speculation that she may travel to London. Hasina, 76, left Bangladesh shortly before the army’s announcement and was on her way to London via India, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg news agency reported.
She had faced pressure to resign for weeks following demonstrations that had turned deadly, killing more than 300 people, including 94 on Sunday and 56 on Monday.
Local TV channels showed protesters storming her official residence on Monday afternoon, ransacking the building and taking away chicken, fish and vegetables.
The president's press team said in a statement that a meeting led by Shahabuddin had "decided unanimously to free Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia immediately".
Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, along with the head of the navy and airforce, and top leaders of several opposition parties including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami party, attended the meeting.
"The meeting has also decided to free all the people who have been arrested during the student protests," the statement added.
Earlier Monday, Waker said in a broadcast to the nation on state television that Hasina had resigned and the military would form a caretaker government.
"The meeting decided to form an interim government immediately", it added.
Hasina had sought to quell nationwide protests against her government since early July but she fled the country after brutal unrest on Sunday in which nearly 100 people were killed.
Zia, 78, is in poor health and confined to hospital after she was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018.
-- AFP
Jobs quota that led to protests
What started out in late June as peaceful protests seeking to abolish a government jobs quota turned into deadly unrest in recent weeks with demonstrators seeking to oust Hasina.
Her resignation follows a weekend of student-led clashes with pro-government supporters.
Earlier Monday, thousands of students defied a government-imposed curfew to march through Dhaka, chanting “we will not go back.”
TV channels showed troops trying to control huge crowds of people who had walked through the night to the capital to take part in the protests.
World’s longest serving female head of govt
A few jubilant demonstrators were seen hugging soldiers as they awaited the army chief’s speech.
Hasina was the world’s longest serving female head of a government, winning a fourth term as prime minister in an election in January that was boycotted by her opponents and voters.
While her ruling Awami League party controls nearly 80 per cent of seats in parliament, the army chief invited none of its members to talks on forming an interim government.
The constitution, if it were followed, requires any prime minister to command majority support in parliament.
Setback to economy
Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was killed in a coup in 1975 when he was prime minister. TV footage Monday showed protesters taking hammers to a statue of the independence leader in Dhaka.
The political turmoil is a setback for the economy, which is reliant on financial aid from the International Monetary Fund and other donors, and earns most of its foreign exchange from exports of garments. Major clothing brands like Hennes & Mauritz AB, Adidas AG, Wal-Mart Inc. and Gap Inc. have operations in the country.
Bangladesh has taken a $10 billion hit to the economy from the curfews and the internet blackouts, according to an industry group. The unrest has made it difficult for garment manufacturers to operate, impacting the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Reserves dropped to $21.8 billion in June.
While Hasina had overseen rapid growth in the economy and helped lift millions out of poverty, those achievements were often overshadowed by what critics contend is her authoritarianism, and accusations she’s used state institutions to stamp out dissent and stifle the media.
Unemployment in the country has become more acute since the pandemic, especially among young people, with the private sector struggling to expand.
