Bangladesh president dissolves parliament, clears way for election to replace Hasina
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh's president dissolved parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for new elections to replace the longtime prime minister who resigned and left the country after weeks of violent unrest. strong.
The decision was announced by President Mohammed Shahabuddin's office on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier, some protest leaders threatened to return to the streets if the parliament was not dissolved on the same day.
Hasina resigned and fled the country by helicopter after protesters defied a curfew, before thousands of protesters stormed her official residence and other buildings associated with his party and family.
His resignation came after weeks of protests against the government's job quota system turned deadly, sparking a broader challenge to his 15-year rule. The government tried to quell the protests by closing schools, imposing curfews and sending in troops to fire tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition, resulting in the deaths of around 300 people, but more these heavy-handed tactics led to discontent.
Bangladesh's prime minister and army chief said on Monday that an interim government would be formed soon to administer new elections.
Army chief General Waker-uz-Zamam said on Monday that he was in control of the country for a short time, while the army tried to contain the unrest. The military wields significant political power in Bangladesh, which has faced more than 20 coups or attempted coups since independence in 1971.
Mohammed Shahabuddin, the head of the country, said after a meeting with Waker-uz-Zamam and opposition politicians that Parliament would be dissolved and a national government would be formed as soon as possible, leading to new elections. .
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who was able to wait for the new interim government in Bangladesh, is currently in Paris for the Olympics. He called Hasina's departure “second liberation day”. It was not immediately possible to meet him.
A long-time opponent of the ousted leader, his government was accused of corruption and he was tried on charges he said were motivated by revenge. He won the Nobel Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microlending.
Student organizer Nahid Islam said the protesters would submit more names to the cabinet, suggesting it would be difficult for those in power to ignore their wishes.
Dhaka's streets appeared calmer on Tuesday, with no reports of fresh violence.
In celebration, student Juairia Karim said it was a historic day: “Today we get what we deserve,” she said. “Everybody's happy, everybody's happy.”
Jubilant protesters still swarmed the ousted leader's residence, some taking selfies with soldiers guarding the building as angry protesters looted furniture, paintings, flower pots and chickens.
But the country is still counting down the weeks of violent unrest that has caused the country's worst bloodshed since the 1971 independence war. Many worry that Hasina's departure could spark further instability in the populous South Asian nation, which is already grappling with crises ranging from high unemployment to corruption and corruption. climate change.
The violence shortly before Hasina's resignation left at least 109 people dead, including 14 policemen, and hundreds more injured, according to media reports, which could not be specifically confirmed.
Amid security concerns, the main airport in the capital Dhaka suspended operations for eight hours.
In the southwestern district of Satkhira, 596 prisoners and inmates escaped from the prison after an attack on the facility on Monday evening, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported, as attacks on prisons spread across the country. the police and security forces.
Most police in Dhaka have left their posts and gathered in a central barrack fearing an attack after several barracks were set on fire or destroyed.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday urged people to exercise self-control in what it said was a “time of transition in our democratic path”.
“It will defeat the spirit of the revolution that overthrew the illegitimate and illegitimate regime of Sheikh Hasina if people decide to take the law into their own hands without due process, ” Tarique Rahman, acting president of the party, wrote on the social media platform X. .
In a statement on Monday, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the transition must be “consistent with the country's international obligations”. Bangladesh and “unifying and open to meaningful participation for all Bangladeshis.”
Hasina landed at the military airport near New Delhi on Monday after leaving Dhaka and met India's national security adviser Ajit Doval, the newspaper reported. Indian Express. Reports said Hasina has been taken to a safe house and may be headed to the United Kingdom.
The 76-year-old was elected to a fourth consecutive term in a January vote that was boycotted by his opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the polls, and the US and UK condemned the results as unreliable, although the government defended them.
