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Anti-Discrimination Student Movement held a rally at Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka on August 3, 2024, to demand justice for the victims killed in the recent countrywide violence during anti-quota protests. Munir Uz Zaman, AFP

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Anti-Discrimination Student Movement

Deutsche Welle

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17229060071451722906004096.jpeg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Anti-Discrimination Student Movement held a rally at Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka on August 3, 2024, to demand justice for the victims killed in the recent countrywide violence during anti-quota protests. <em>Munir Uz Zaman, AFP </em></span></span></span></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;text-align:left;line-height:normal">Bangladesh&#x27;s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday, after weeks of massive student protests and escalating violence that has so far claimed hundreds of lives.</p><p>It marked an abrupt and dramatic end to her 15-year rule.</p><p>After the news broke, the streets of the capital, Dhaka, and other major cities were filled with celebrations. Jubilant crowds waved flags, some dancing on top of a tank in the streets of Dhaka before hundreds broke through the gates of Hasina&#x27;s official residence.</p><div><strong>&#x27;It is time to stop the violence&#x27;</strong></div><p>Bangladesh&#x27;s army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, said in a televised speech that the military would form an interim government. It was not immediately clear if he would lead it or who would join the caretaker administration.</p><p>&quot;The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,&quot; Zaman said, dressed in military fatigues.</p><p>&quot;I hope after my speech, the situation will improve,&quot; he said.</p><p>Zaman said he had held talks with the main opposition parties and civil society members but not Hasina&#x27;s Awami League party.</p><p>It&#x27;s been less than seven months since Hasina swept a national election in January, celebrating a fourth straight term in power and fifth overall. The vote was boycotted by the main opposition.</p><p>But relentless and violent protests over the past few weeks and the inability of the security forces to put an end to them drew the curtain on Hasina&#x27;s rule.</p><p>The demonstrations began in June after student groups demanded the scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs.</p><p>But it escalated into a major uprising against Hasina&#x27;s government.</p><p>The unrest has so far claimed the lives of about 300 people since mid-July, according to local media reports.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/8/5/bangladesh-pm-flees-country-military-takes-over-1839">READ: Bangladesh PM flees country, military takes over</a></div><div><strong>Will there be a smooth transition?</strong></div><p>It&#x27;s unclear if the transition toward a military-led interim administration would be smooth.</p><p>Some student protesters have already said they won&#x27;t accept any government without their representation.</p><p>&quot;Representatives of student protesters have to be part of the interim government. Otherwise, we will not accept it,&quot; Asif Mahmud, a student leader, told DW.</p><p>He also underlined that they want to have a say not only on the structure of government but also on policies.</p><p>Z. I. Khan Panna, a senior lawyer and human rights activist, also expressed discontent with the army chief&#x27;s statement.</p><p>&quot;We have not received any concrete plans from the army chief. What he said was a temporary solution,&quot; Panna told DW. &quot;The people he spoke to over the formation of the interim government, what is their level of public support? I don&#x27;t think people will accept that.&quot;</p><p>However, a statement released by the military&#x27;s public relations department said that the army chief would soon hold direct talks with representatives of protesting students and teachers.</p><p>The concept of a &quot;caretaker government&quot; is not new to Bangladesh. From 1990 to 2008, during general elections, the elected government ceded power to an interim, technocratic administration, which was tasked with holding elections in a free and fair manner. This system was scrapped in 2011.</p><p>Some observers are now calling for a similar interim administration to take over until elections are held.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/7/20/bangladesh-army-out-in-force-as-police-fire-on-demonstrators-1827">RELATED: Bangladesh army out in force as police fire on demonstrators</a></div><div><strong>Military &#x27;should not run the government&#x27;</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, a group of 21 prominent people, including rights activists and lawyers, called for the interim administration to take measures to address the causes of mass public dissatisfaction, which led to Hasina&#x27;s ouster.</p><p>In a statement, they said that the accumulated public anger over long-standing electoral fraud, widespread corruption, economic mismanagement and repression has now erupted into a mass movement.</p><p>&quot;Power should be transferred to a national or interim government through constitutional means or by amending the constitution if necessary, following discussions with the protesting students and political parties.&quot;</p><p>The group also stressed that the military should not run the country and should instead hand over power to a civilian interim government and return to the barracks.</p><p>Shahdin Malik is one of the signatories of the statement. Speaking to DW, he said the military&#x27;s role is to protect Bangladesh from external threats and not to govern the country.</p><p>&quot;Military should protect the country from external forces during a war. Their role is not to run the country,&quot; Malik said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LtpOxVEeFWo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>It's unclear if the transition toward a military-led interim administration would be smooth. Some student protesters have already said they won't accept any government without their representation.</p>

It's unclear if the transition toward a military-led interim administration would be smooth. Some student protesters have already said they won't accept any government without their representation.

Bangladesh: What's next after PM Sheikh Hasina forced out?

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Bangladesh: What's next after PM Sheikh Hasina forced out?

Deutsche Welle

Published Aug 06, 2024 09:00 AM PHT

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Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina

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