DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A month ago, a student-led movement ousted Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, after weeks of protests and clashes that killed over 600 people and pushed the country to the brink of chaos.
What began as student protests over government jobs became a large-scale revolt against the country’s longest-serving prime minister.
Hasina, 76, fled to India on Aug. 5 as anger against her government swelled. But the ouster triggered more violence. Police went on strike and mobs rampaged across the country until a new interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in.
Here is where things stand now, a month after the country was roiled by its worst bloodshed in decades:
What is the interim government focused on?
Since he was sworn in, Yunus declared that his key tasks would be to restore peace and law and order, fight corruption, and prepare for new elections.
His Cabinet, which includes two student leaders who spearheaded the protests, has fixed its sights on overhauling and reforming Bangladesh’s institutions, from its courts and police to the Election Commission. To do this, it’s also seeking support from the United Nations Development Program.
Reforms have been a key priority as demonstrations against Hasina quickly escalated into anger against her increasingly autocratic rule. Her government had jailed opposition members, curbed independent media and curtailed civil society.
Protesters also accused Hasina’s Awami League of corruption and said that public institutions, including the Election Commission, had been eroded under her 15-year rule.
What Yunus needs is time.
The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who pioneered microcredit to help impoverished people, especially women, asked for patience in an address to the nation. He said his Cabinet has worked hard to curb the violence and lawlessness that set in after Hasina was ousted.
“I request everyone to be patient,” he said. “It is one of our objectives that public institutions regain public trust.”
What is the mood in Bangladesh?
Unrest persists. Garment workers demanding better wages have forced about 100 factories to shut down and tensions are simmering, with lingering but widespread anger against Hasina and her Awami League.
Hasina, now in self-imposed exile, is facing murder charges in more than 100 cases. Key officials perceived as close to her resigned after mass protests.
Many cases have also been registered against those associated with Hasina, her party or her government — from former ministers and judges to journalists and even a prominent cricket player. They’ve been attacked, stopped from leaving the country and even jailed. Rights groups have also condemned these lump charges.
Most of the cases are legally weak and politically driven, said Zillur Rahman, executive director of the Center for Governance Studies, a Dhaka-based think tank.
This form of “vigilante justice” has sparked fears that “the system that Hasina perpetuated is still alive, just the victims have changed,” Rahman said.
What about the students?
Within a week of unseating Hasina, the students who drove her out were directing traffic in the capital, Dhaka.
Some schools and universities have since reopened, including Dhaka University, which became the epicenter for the protests against Hasina. But things are not back to normal yet.
Many heads of educational institutions have been forced to resign and in some cases, even though classes have formally restarted, few students are attending them.
Still, many students remain optimistic about the interim government’s potential to bring about real change.
Sneha Akter, a student at Dhaka University, believes the removal of those who were previously in power is the first step.
“By replacing them, we are correcting past mistakes,” she said. “It is not possible to change the entire country in one month. … We need to give the government some time.”
There are those who say the Yunus-led temporary government should remain in power until meaningful reforms are enacted, “whether that takes three months, three years or even six years,” said Hafizur Rahman, another Dhaka University student.
What’s next?
There is a sense that normalcy is slowly returning — Dhaka’s streets are no longer a battleground between security forces and students. Internet is back on and a nationwide curfew with a shoot-on-sight order has been lifted.
With much of the violence eased, there is hope for a new chapter. Shops, banks, hotels and restaurants are open, and police — who went on strike over fears for their own safety — are back at work.
However, their morale is low. Officers are less visible on the streets and seemingly unwilling to tackle disturbances as their crackdown against the students remains fresh in the minds of many Bangladeshis.
Dozens of police were killed during the uprising, their stations torched and looted.
Another challenge is restoring the economy, which was disrupted by the weekslong shutdown during the uprising, sending prices of food and commodities soaring.
The biggest question is: When will the new elections be held?
Some experts say the interim government doesn’t have the mandate to enact major reforms and that it should focus on building consensus among political parties on reforms — and schedule the polls.
Hasina’s Awami League has remained under the radar so far.
Yunus is banking on the support he enjoys among the country’s youth, but Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, says that support may have an expiration date.
“If security continues to be a problem and economic relief is slow to come … young people could grow impatient and anxious,” Kugelman said.
Hasina’s chief opposition — the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP — is seen as having the greatest chance of winning the polls and has been pushing for the elections to happen soon.
“That raises an unsettling question: What happens if the BNP, which has no formal role in the interim government, doesn’t get the elections it wants to see soon?” Kugelman said. “Will it launch a movement? Will it trigger unrest?”
“That could pose new risks to law and order and deepen political uncertainty and volatility,” he said.
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