Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on August 5, after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule. Thousands of demonstrators stormed her official residence, a day after nearly 100 died in the unrest.
Hasina’s departure threatens to create even more instability in the border nation already dealing with a series of crises, from high unemployment and corruption to climate change.
Hours after the embattled leader was seen on TV boarding a military helicopter with her sister, the country’s military chief, Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, said he would seek the president’s guidance on forming an interim government. He promised that the military would launch an investigation into the deadly crackdown on student-led protests that fueled outrage against the government.
“Keep faith in the military, we will investigate all the killings and punish the responsible,” he said. “I have ordered that no army and police will indulge in any kind of firing.” He met opposition politicians, including the head of the now-banned Jamaat-e-Islami party, and civil society members before making his statement.
Protests over quota system
The protests began peacefully as frustrated students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs that they said favoured those with connections to the Prime Minister’s Awami League party, but the demonstrations have since morphed into an unprecedented challenge to Hasina and the party.
The 76-year-old—who was the longest-serving female head of government—was elected for a fourth consecutive term in a January vote that was boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed in the lead-up to the election, and the US and the UK denounced the result as not credible, though the government defended it.
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Hasina had cultivated ties with powerful countries, including both India and China. But under her, relations with United States and other Western nations have come under strain, as they have expressed concerns over human rights violations and press freedoms in the predominantly Muslim nation of 170 million people.
Her political opponents have previously accused her of growing increasingly autocratic and called her a threat to the country’s democracy, and many now say the unrest is a result of that authoritarian streak.
Hasina arrived on August 5 in a city in India on the border with Bangladesh in an army helicopter, according to a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information to the media. It was not clear where she would go next. As she fled, people stormed her residence, taking furniture and pulling food from the refrigerators.
‘Non-cooperation’
Protests have continued even after the Supreme Court ruled in July that the quota system—which set aside up to 30 per cent of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan—must be drastically cut. The government attempted to quell the demonstrations with force, leaving nearly 300 people dead since mid-July.
At least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in clashes in the capital on August 4, according to the country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo. Hundreds more were injured. At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.
Authorities also shut off mobile internet on August 4 in an attempt to quell the unrest, and broadband internet was cut briefly on the morning of August 5. It was the second internet blackout in the country since July, but services were restored later that day.
Over the weekend, protesters called for a “non-cooperation” effort, urging people not to pay taxes or utility bills and not to show up for work on August 4 (Sunday), a working day in Bangladesh. Offices, banks, and factories opened, but commuters in Dhaka and other cities struggled to get to their jobs since much public transport was halted amid fears of violence.
Hasina offered to talk with student leaders on August 3, but a coordinator refused and demanded her resignation. Hasina repeated her pledges to investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence. She said she was ready to sit down whenever the protesters wanted. Earlier, she had said protesters who engaged in “sabotage” and destruction were no longer students but criminals, and that the people should deal with them with an iron hand.
Major setback for economy
The political turmoil is a setback for the economy, which is reliant on financial aid from the International Monetary Fund and other donors, and earns most of its foreign exchange from exports of garments. Major clothing brands like Hennes & Mauritz AB, Adidas AG, Wal-Mart Inc., and Gap Inc. have operations in the country.
Bangladesh has taken a $10 billion hit to the economy from the curfews and internet blackouts, according to an industry group. The unrest has made it difficult for garment manufacturers to operate, impacting the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Reserves dropped to $21.8 billion in June.
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While Hasina had overseen rapid growth in the economy and helped lift millions out of poverty, those achievements were often overshadowed by what critics contend is her authoritarianism and accusations she’s used state institutions to stamp out dissent and stifle the media.
Unemployment in the country has become more acute since the pandemic, especially among young people, with the private sector struggling to expand.
Hasina headed to London via Delhi?
Sheikh Hasina is expected to be traveling to London, according to people familiar with the matter. India will allow her safe passage through the country to her final destination in the UK’s capital, the people said, declining to be identified because the matter is not public. When contacted for information, India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has beefed up security at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Police have also tightened security outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport, in case Hasina lands in the national capital, an officer said.
The Border Security Force (BSF) issued a “high alert” across all its formations along the 4,096-km India-Bangladesh border in the wake of the developments in the neighbouring country, officials said. BSF Director General (Acting) Daljit Singh Chawdhary and other senior commanders have landed in Kolkata to review the security situation, they said.
Chawdhary toured the North 24 Paraganas district and Sundarbans area to review preparations. The force has directed all its field commanders to be “on ground” and “deploy all personnel on border duty immediately,” a senior officer said.
West Bengal shares a total of 2,217 km of its border with Bangladesh, along with Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Assam (262 km) and Mizoram (318 km).
(with inputs from agencies)
