Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, announced her resignation and departed the nation on Monday following a bloody crackdown on protests that claimed hundreds of lives. A broader movement calling for her removal developed out of demonstrations against job quotas. TVs and furnishings were looted as exuberant mobs invaded the presidential mansion. An armful of vases was carried by one man, while another balanced a red velvet chair with gilded edges on his head.
Protests Escalate into a Revolution
In other parts of Dhaka, protestors scaled a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Sheikh Hasina and the man who founded the state and started hacking away at the head with an axe. Hasina’s 15-year second term in office came to an end with her escape into exile. She had led a political movement with her father, who was killed in a coup in 1975, for 20 of the previous 30 years.
According to her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who spoke with the BBC World Service, Sheikh Hasina fled the country for her safety at her family’s request. Hasina was “so disappointed that after all her hard work, for a minority to rise up against her,” Joy said. She wouldn’t try a political comeback, he continued.
Hasina’s resignation was earlier announced by Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman in a televised speech, along with the announcement that a transitional administration would be constituted. Following his appointment as army chief on June 23, Zaman announced that he had spoken with heads of several political parties, including Hasina’s long-ruling Awami League, and that he would shortly meet with President Mohammed Shahabuddin to discuss the future.
“The country is going through a revolutionary period,” said Zaman, 58. “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. Please don’t go back to the path of violence and please return to non-violent and peaceful ways.”
Exile and Aftermath
Sheikh Hasina, 76, reportedly touched down at a military airbase close to Delhi, according to the Indian news agency ANI. Commercial tracking services indicated a Bangladesh Air Force plane was departing the nation and vanishes from sight around Delhi, though sources were unable to confirm this. Hasina was received at the airfield by India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior military officers, according to ANI, which cited sources. She was then taken to a secure area.
Since last month, when student protests against job quotas started, Bangladesh has been immersed in violence. These quotas, which many perceive as favoring allies of the ruling party, reserve certain public sector employment for veterans of the nation’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Around 250 people were killed and thousands more were injured in a violent crackdown that followed the protests that turned into a campaign calling for Hasina’s removal.
The country, once one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, has recently faced slow economic growth, inflation, and unemployment. Hasina’s son Joy defended her record, saying, “She has turned Bangladesh around. When she took over power, it was considered a failing state. It was a poor country. Until today it was considered one of the rising tigers of Asia.”
In January of this year, Begum Khaleda Zia’s main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), boycotted the election that gave Sheikh Hasina her fourth consecutive term. Since triumphing over Zia in a protracted power battle in 2009, Hasina has been in charge. The political movements that the two women inherited were Hasina’s from her father Mujib and Zia’s from her husband Ziaur Rahman, who assumed power following Mujib’s death and was assassinated in 1981.
“Hasina’s resignation proves the power of the people,” said Tarique Rahman, the exiled eldest son of the Zias who now serves as acting chairman of the opposition party. “Together, let’s rebuild Bangladesh into a democratic and developed nation, where the rights and freedoms of all people are protected,” he posted on X.
Continued Clashes and Government Response
In order to put pressure on Sheikh Hasina to step down following confrontations that killed about 100 people nationwide on Sunday, student activists had planned for a march to the nation’s capital, Dhaka, on Monday. They were also planning to disobey a curfew. The Daily Star newspaper said that at least six persons were murdered in skirmishes between police and demonstrators on Monday in the Jatrabari and Dhaka Medical College regions. Sources were unable to confirm this report.
The number of casualties from protests on Sunday—which included at least 13 police officers—surpassed the 67 recorded on July 19, the day when students demonstrated against employment quotas. This was the biggest single-day death toll from protests in Bangladesh’s recent history. Student organizations opposing the job quotas caused riots last month that resulted in thousands of injuries and at least 150 fatalities.
The administration issued a three-day countrywide vacation beginning Monday in response to the growing violence. It also declared an indefinite nationwide curfew beginning at 6 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday. Government buildings, Hasina’s Awami League party headquarters, police stations, and the residences of public representatives were the targets of attacks, vandalism, and arson during the course of the weekend. The nation’s garment factories, which provide clothing to some of the biggest brands in the world, were shut down permanently.
Sheikh Hasina and her ministers refute the accusations made by human rights organizations and Hasina’s detractors that her administration is employing disproportionate force against demonstrators. Sheikh Hasina said that “those who are carrying out violence are not students but terrorists who are out to destabilize the nation.”
As the country prepares for a moment of uncertainty and possible upheaval, Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and subsequent exile represent a critical turning point for Bangladesh. The appeals for a peaceful resolution and the establishment of an interim administration serve as a stark reminder of how precarious the political environment in the nation is. Bangladesh has to manage these unsettling times and seek to bring peace and stability back while the rest of the world looks on.
Image by Wikimedia Commons
