Bangladesh’s caretaker government to take oath on Thursday, army chief says

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s army chief said Wednesday that a caretaker government led by a Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will be sworn in on Thursday evening after returning from Paris to take over the administration and try to bring stability to the country after an uprising forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to neighbouring India.

Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a televised address late Wednesday afternoon that those responsible for the violence since Hasina’s resignation would be held accountable.

The army chief, who was accompanied by navy and air force commanders, said he had spoken to Yunus and would welcome him at the airport on Thursday.

Zaman said he hoped Yunus would bring the situation to a “beautiful democratic” process.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Yunus said: “I can’t wait to get home and see what’s happening there and how we can organise ourselves to get out of the mess we’re in.”

Asked when the elections would be held, he raised his hands as if to show it was too early to say. “I’ll go and talk to them. I’m just new to this whole area.”

Earlier Wednesday, ailing opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia urged everyone not to follow the path of destruction in Bangladesh, addressing her supporters from her hospital bed at a rally in Dhaka, her first public speech since 2018, when she was convicted of corruption and imprisoned.

“No destruction, no anger and no revenge, we need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she said via video link.

“I have already been released. I want to thank the brave people who fought a life-and-death struggle to make the impossible possible,” she said. “This victory gives us a new opportunity to come back from the ruins of looting, corruption and bad politics. We must reform this country to make it a prosperous country.”

The incident came as Bangladesh prepared to form a caretaker government following a mass uprising in which hundreds of people were killed and hundreds more injured.

Student leaders who have organised weeks of mass protests said they would unveil the full list of the new Cabinet on Wednesday. The streets of Bangladesh were calm after reports of violence against Hasina supporters, police and minority communities that followed her escape to India.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party rally came a day after she was released from house arrest amid the new political situation in the country.

Zia’s freedom is largely symbolic, as the ailing leader was out of prison under an executive order by the previous government but was not allowed to travel abroad. Her son and acting party chief, Tarique Rahman He spoke to the audience online from London, where he has been living in exile since 2008.

Rahman faces multiple charges, including corruption and a grenade attack. Supporters have dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

Zia, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2006, was convicted of corruption in 2018 and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Her party said the charges were aimed at distracting her from politics.

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a symbolic figure who is currently the constitutional head of government, dissolved parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for a caretaker government that is likely to schedule new elections, although it is unclear when they would be held.

Shahabuddin appointed Yunus as caretaker head of the government after consulting with the army and student leaders. He has long been an opponent of Hasina.

An economist and banker, Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work developing microcredit markets. He is recognized for lifting thousands of people out of poverty through Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983 and which provides small loans to entrepreneurs who would not qualify for regular bank loans.

In his first statement since being appointed head of the interim government, Yunus on Wednesday congratulated students for “taking the initiative to make our Second Victory Day possible.” He also appealed to them, political party members and others to remain calm.

Referring to the violence that followed Hasina’s resignation, Yunus said: “Violence is our enemy. Please do not create more enemies. Stay calm and be ready to build the country.”

The streets of Dhaka, the capital, were quiet on Wednesday, two days after violence gripped the country following Hasina’s abrupt departure. Students were seen cleaning the streets and directing traffic in parts of Dhaka, while police, including traffic police, disappeared amid brutal attacks on police stations in Dhaka and other parts of the country.

The firearms theft was also reported in local media. Reports of robberies in parts of Dhaka came in the absence of police.

The Bangladesh Police Association went on strike after police stations and security personnel were attacked across the country on Monday. The association said “many” officers were killed, but did not give a figure.

Violence in the days leading up to Hasina’s resignation killed at least 109 people — including 14 police officers — and injured hundreds more, according to media reports that could not be independently confirmed. There were reports of further attacks across the country on Tuesday.

In the southwestern Satkhira district, 596 prisoners and detainees escaped from a prison after an attack on the facility on Monday evening, the United News of Bangladesh reported.

Many homes of ruling party ministers and lawmakers were ransacked, set on fire or vandalized. Social media showed people taking valuables from the home of Hasina’s younger sister in Dhaka’s Gulshan district. Four neighbors told The Associated Press that the looting took place at her home.

Charred bodies were found elsewhere in Dhaka from a museum that Hasina’s father used before he was murdered along with most of his family in 1975, media reported.

Local media also reported that many of those killed in the two days of violence since her resignation were ruling party officials, mostly from outside Dhaka, although that detail could not be independently confirmed.

There are growing concerns among the country’s Hindu minority, which has been targeted in the past during political unrest and has long been seen as pro-Hasina, that it could again be targeted. Local reports of violence against Hindu and other minority leaders have not been confirmed.

In one case in Dhaka, the home of a popular Indian musician was attacked and the attackers destroyed about 3,000 musical instruments, the family said.

Opposition politicians publicly appealed to people not to attack minority groups, while student leaders asked their supporters to protect Hindu temples and other places of worship.

The unrest began in July with protests over a quota system for government positions that critics said favored people associated with her party. But it soon escalated into a broader challenge to Hasina’s 15-year rulewhich was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, accusations of election fraud, and brutal repression of its opponents. More than 300 people died in just a few weeks.

The quick decision to choose Yunus came after Hasina’s resignation created a power vacuum and left the future of Bangladesh, a country with a long history of military rule, chaotic politics and numerous crises, in an uncertain situation.

The military has significant influence in the country, which has seen more than 20 coups or attempted coups since independence from Pakistan in 1971. Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman said on Monday he had taken interim control while a new government was formed.

Many fear that Hasina leaving could cause even more instability in a densely populated country of some 170 million people that is already struggling with high unemployment, corruption and climate change.

Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January, an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the United States and Britain condemned the result as unreliable.