After the fall of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, army chief General Waker-Us-Zaman took over. He wanted to meet the leaders of the student protests on Tuesday, the army said. However, the student movement that urged Hasina to step down has already made it clear that it rejects a military-led caretaker government.
The student movement wants a transitional government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. “Any government other than the one we propose will not be accepted,” Nahid Islam, one of the main organizers of the student movement, said in a Facebook video with three other organizers.
“We will not accept a government that is supported or led by the military,” Islam said, adding that talks had already been held with Yunus, who had agreed to take responsibility. Yunus did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
After weeks of protests, the political situation in Bangladesh escalated completely on Sunday: after dozens of protesters were killed in brutal riots, the government palace was finally stormed on Monday. You could see them celebrating and waving to the cameras on television. People on the streets cheered. “She fled, she fled,” some shouted.
Protesters took ‘souvenirs’ from the palace after storming it
The protesters sometimes took strange ‘souvenirs’ from the government palace: on social media you see people carrying furniture and other objects out of the building – there is talk of outright looting. Some protesters are also said to have slept in beds in the palace.
In these posts you can see photos of the looting in the government palace:
India grants PM safe passage after escape
Those close to Hasina said she had left the building before the storming of the government palace to a “safe place.” “Her security team asked her to leave; she had no time to prepare,” AFP news agency was told. The 76-year-old was initially taken away in a motorcade. “She was later evacuated by helicopter.” According to CNN News 18, she has now landed in the northeastern Indian city of Agartala. India has accordingly granted her safe passage.
Images of the riots on Sunday:
Hundreds of thousands at protests Sunday, nearly 100 dead
On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of opponents and supporters of the government took to the streets across the country, attacking each other with knives, sticks and batons. Security forces also fired guns into the crowd. At least 94 people were killed, according to figures available to AFP. This is the highest number of casualties since the anti-government protests began in July. Among the dead were 14 police officers whose station was stormed in Enayetpur, in the northeast of the country, according to official figures. In total, at least 300 people have been killed since the protests began in July, according to official figures from police, government and hospitals available to the AFP news agency on Monday.
Hasina was confirmed in January in elections boycotted by much of the opposition. Her government has been accused of, among other things, abusing state institutions to maintain its own power and suppressing government critics – including the extrajudicial killing of opposition figures.
EU hopes for “orderly and peaceful transition”
The EU called for calm and restraint. “It is crucial to ensure an orderly and peaceful transition to a democratically elected government – with full respect for human rights and democratic principles,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief in Brussels. Those arbitrarily arrested must be released immediately.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
