Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Hours before taking oath on Thursday evening as the Interim Prime Minister of trouble-torn Bangladesh, Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus made a fervent appeal to the people to stay calm and “refrain from all kinds of violence” to make the best use of their new victory.
Dr. Yunus, whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi had decorated with a gold medal in 2017, is heading from Paris to Dhaka to take the oath, as the tense situation started limping back to normalcy. Some businesses and establishments opened up, leading to the resumption of the export of onions, vegetables, and other articles from India.
Once the interim government is sworn in, the next step will be fresh elections in Bangladesh.
His name as the Interim PM was first proposed by the coordinators of the students’ movement. The economist, 84, congratulated the “brave students” who took the lead in making, what he said, “our Second Victory Day possible,” and appealed to all students, political parties, and non-political people to stay calm.
While violence and arson continued in Bangladesh, the authorities scrambled to bring the law and order situation under control. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman had, on Wednesday, announced that the interim government will take oath around 8 pm on Thursday. Its proposed advisory council may have 15 members.
The army chief said the armed forces will provide all possible support to 84-year-old Yunus after Sheikh Hasina resigned as the PM and fled Dhaka on Monday following violent anti-government protests spearheaded by the “Students Against Discrimination” movement.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and ex-PM Begum Khaleda Zia, who was released on Tuesday from house arrest since 2018, echoed the views of Yunus, saying it is not “anger” or “revenge” but “love and peace” that will rebuild the nation.
Businesses demanded immediate restoration of law and order to ensure the safety of their production units amid attacks on factories over the last two days. They said factories were reopened on Wednesday, particularly the garment units, but many cannot run properly fearing unrest and vandalism, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
With police absent from their duty to keep law and order or manage traffic, students carried out traffic management as volunteers for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper said. There were reports of attacks on police stations and facilities across the country on Tuesday, resulting in numerous police casualties, it added.
“Let us not miss the chance by going into any senseless violence. Violence is our enemy. Please don’t create more enemies. Be calm and get ready to build the country,” Yunus said in a statement.
“If we take the path of violence everything will be destroyed. Please stay calm. Help those around you to stay calm.”
“Let us make the best use of our new victory. Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes,” he said. “I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence.”
His appeal came after bodies of at least 29 supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party were recovered across the country through Tuesday, taking the overall death toll to 469 in almost three weeks since the protest first started in July, according to local media reports.
On Monday, former PM Sheikh Hasina flew to Hindon Airbase, near Delhi, by a Bangladesh military aircraft and is waiting to take political asylum in some country.
Dr. Yunus’ appeal comes as the Army chief acknowledged there were incidents of looting and anarchy after Hasina’s ouster. The police forces became “totally dysfunctional and it was not possible on the part of the military along with the navy and air force troops to “fill up the void.”
“But we will do everything possible to bring the culprits to justice.”
In a statement, he also called Bangladesh a “beautiful country with lots of exciting possibilities.” “We must protect and make it a wonderful country for us and for our future generations.”
Meanwhile, addressing a news conference at the Police Headquarters, newly-appointed Inspector-General of Police Muhammad Mainul Islam said some unprofessional officers did not follow the accepted principles of applying force and violated human rights.
“It is because of them (the unprofessional officials) that this ongoing violence and casualties have occurred,” he was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper.
Many police officials have been injured, killed, and tortured because of some unprofessional and overly ambitious officials, Islam added.
Media reports also flagged more cases of violence against minorities, mainly the Hindus, surfacing through Tuesday, prominent among them being the massive vandalism and destruction at popular folk band Joler Gaan’s frontman Rahul Ananda’s residence on Monday prompting the singer and his family to take shelter at an unknown place.
The Daily Star quoted Saiful Islam Jarnal, one of Joler Gaan’s founding members, who said the mob broke through the main gate, ravaged and looted the house, and then torched it along with Rahul Anand’s over 3,000 musical instruments, which he designed and made over the years, and which attracted many foreign guests, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Terming attacks on minorities as against the fundamental spirit of the students’ movement, Transparency International Bangladesh has called on authorities to ensure the security of religious minorities and state assets.
Several Hindu temples, households, and businesses have been vandalized and at least two Hindu leaders affiliated with Hasina’s party were killed in the violence, according to two community leaders in Dhaka.
In her address to a massive rally of her party – her first public speech since 2018 – in Nayapaltan in Central Dhaka, ex-PM Khaleda Zia, 79, thanked the people for their “struggle to make possible the impossible.”
“Youths are our future. We need to build a democratic Bangladesh to fulfill their dream, and for which they shed their blood…No destruction, no anger, and no revenge, we need love and peace to rebuild our country.”
Six top officials of Bangladesh, including Deputy Governor Kazi Sayedur Rahman, resigned as unrest erupted at the bank on Wednesday, the second day after offices reopened, the Dhaka Tribune reported. More than a hundred bank officials stormed the governor’s office, forcing several deputy governors to leave the building.
Meanwhile, talking to an Indian news channel, Yunus said it would not be right for Sheikh Hasina to continue her stay in India. His interview with NDTV came amid reports that her stay in India may be extended after her plan to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) and seek asylum ran into a roadblock, and the US canceled her visa.
According to one report, the UK has effectively ruled out granting asylum to Hasina and she might be exploring other options, including the United States (US) and Finland.
Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, also said his mother has no immediate plans to leave India, and no decision has been taken for her travel to another country at this time.
While reports indicate that India is willing to support Hasina in her time of need, providing her refuge for an extended period could put New Delhi in a quandary as it has to secure its interests in Bangladesh under the next government.
India’s main concern is likely to be Hasina’s opponents in Dhaka, with whom it will have to work. They could use her extended stay in the country to raise doubts about New Delhi’s intentions.