Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, resigned and fled to neighboring India on Monday after weeks of deadly anti-government demonstrations culminated in protesters storming her official residence.
Scenes of jubilation erupted on the streets as protesters celebrated the end of her 15 years in power. They climbed on tanks and scaled an imposing statue of Hasina’s father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka, attacking the head with an ax.
In a national address, Bangladesh’s army chief, Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, confirmed Hasina had resigned and said the military would form an interim government. Addressing protesters, largely young Bangladeshis and students, he said: “Whatever demands you have we will fulfill and bring back peace to the nation. Please help us in this, stay away from violence.”
“The military will not fire at anyone, the police will not fire at anyone. I have given orders,” he added.
A senior official from Bangladesh’s foreign ministry told CNN on Tuesday that Hasina is now in a “safer” location “close to Delhi.”
Earlier in the day, the military and police had attacked demonstrators rallying in the area, according to a journalist working for CNN in Dhaka. Images showed flames billowing from vehicles near Hasina’s house and protesters inside the building, smashing walls and looting its contents.
On Sunday, clashes between police and protesters demanding the scrapping of quotas for government jobs and the resignation of the prime minister resulted in at least 102 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Among those killed were 13 police officers, making it the highest single-day death toll from any recent protests in the country’s history.
Opponents argued that the civil service job quotas were discriminatory. The death toll surpassed the 67 deaths reported on July 19, when students took to the streets against the quotas, according to Reuters. UNICEF reported that at least 32 children were killed during protests last month.
The widespread unrest spread to cities such as Rajshahi, Barisal, and Chittagong, prompting the government to impose an indefinite nationwide curfew over the weekend. Human rights groups accused authorities of using excessive force against protesters, a charge that the government denied.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin announced the release of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, along with student protesters and those arrested on “false cases,” as reported by state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). Shahabuddin stated that the current parliament would be dissolved immediately and an interim government should be formed in consultation with all parties and stakeholders to hold elections as soon as possible.
Nafiz Basher, an organizing member of Students Against Discrimination, which led the protest movement, told CNN that the group’s representatives would meet the army chief on Tuesday. Student leader Muhammad Nahid Islam said that although they hadn't met all of their goals, after Hasina’s resignation, the group wanted to “abolish fascist systems forever.”
The group expressed a desire for Bangladeshi Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead an interim government. Yunus told CNN on Monday that he wanted to see the army hand control of the country to a civilian government. “People are celebrating on the street and millions and millions of people all over Bangladesh [are] celebrating as if this is our liberation day,” he said. He emphasized, “We have given our blood, we have been martyred, our vision of forming a new Bangladesh will now have to be realized.
According to the BBC Report:
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