Bangladesh banishes Hasina

• Army chief announces ex-PM’s resignation, says interim govt in the works
• Ousted ruler flies to India; political leaders meet military chiefs to discuss future set-up
• Khaleda Zia freed from prison; jubilation on the streets as protesters storm premier’s ‘palace’, make off with ‘souvenirs’
• 66 deaths reported on Monday
• Curfew ends today, release of detained protesters ordered; world calls for ensuring a ‘peaceful transition’

DHAKA: Curfew has been lifted, communications largely restored and scores of demonstrators arrested during weeks of protests are being released, as Bangladesh comes to terms with life after Sheikh Hasina.

The matriarch fled into exile after stepping down as prime minister on Monday, her resignation prompted by a bloody crackdown on demonstrations that began as protests against job quotas, and swelled into a movement demanding her ouster.

It was army chief Gen Wakeruz Zaman who announced her resignation in a televised address to the nation, and said an interim government would be formed.

Jubilant crowds stormed into the opulent grounds of the presidential residence unopposed, carrying out looted furniture and TVs. One man balanced a red velvet, gilt-edged chair on his head; another held an armful of vases.

Soon after Hasina’s departure, it was announced that President Mohammed Shahabuddin had decided to free ailing former PM and opposition leader, Khaleda Zia.

The president and army chief also met late on Monday, alongside key opposition leaders, with the president’s press team saying it had been “decided to form an interim government immediately”, but it was not clear if Gen Zaman would lead it.

“The meeting has also decided to free all the people who have been arrested during the student protests,” a statement issued after the meeting said.

“The meeting decided to form an interim government immediately,” it added.

In his televised remarks, Gen Zaman, who had taken over as army chief only on June 23 said: “The country is going through a revolutionary period”.

“I promise you all, we will bring justice to all the murders and injustice. We request you to have faith in the army of the country,” he said.

“Please don’t go back to the path of violence and please return to non-violent and peaceful ways.”

The PM’s exit

Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter, a source close to the ousted leader told AFP.

The flight into exile ended a 15-year second stint in power for Hasina, who has ruled for 20 of the last 30 years as leader of the political movement inherited from her father Sheikh Mujib, who was assassinated with most of his family in a 1975 coup.

Hasina had left the country for her own safety at the insistence of her family, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy told BBC World Service, adding that she would not attempt to mount a political comeback, he said.

India’s ANI news agency said Hasina landed at a military airfield near New Delhi. Reuters could not verify this, but commercial tracking services showed a Bangladesh Air Force plane had left the country and flown west before disappearing from tracking near Delhi.

Citing sources, ANI reported that India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior military officers met Hasina at the airfield and she was being moved to a safe location.

A top-level source said she wanted to “transit” on to London, but calls by the British government for a UN-led investigation into “unprecedented levels of violence” put that into doubt.

Mob violence

Elsewhere in Dhaka, protesters climbed atop a statue of her father, the country’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and began chiselling away at the head with an axe.

At least 66 people were killed on Monday, police said, adding that gangs had launched revenge attacks on Hasina’s allies.

Mobs also raided and ransacked the homes of Hasina’s Awami League allies as well as police stations.

Others torched television stations that had backed Hasina’s rule, smashed statues of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and set fire to a museum dedicated to him.

Bangladesh’s military said they had shut Dhaka’s international airport on Monday evening.

There were widespread calls by protesters to ensure Hasina’s close allies remained in the country.

However, the military announced that life would go back to normal from Tuesday, as the curfew is lifted at 6am local time.

Global reaction

The United Nations said it was following the situation in Bangladesh “very closely”.

“We continue to call for calm and restraint and urge all parties to respect the right to peaceful assembly and expression,” Farhan Aziz Haq, UN Deputy Spokesperson, told the daily briefing at UN headquarters in New York.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged calm in Bangladesh after the resignation and departure of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and highlighted the need for a “peaceful, orderly and democratic transition,” his spokesman said.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an “orderly and peaceful” transition towards an elected government. Former colonial ruler Britian and the United States urged “calm”.

The White House and the State Department separately urged parties to refrain from violence.

“The United States has long called for respecting democratic rights in Bangladesh, and we urge that the interim government be democratic and inclusive. We commend the Army for the restraint they have showed today,” a White House spokesperson said.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2024