Bangladesh is experiencing a “student-led revolution” following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the South Asian country’s new interim leader Muhammad Yunus said.
“This is a revolution, a student-led revolution,” the Nobel laureate said at a press conference on Sunday.
“There is no doubt about it, because the whole government business has collapsed.”
Yunus, 84, returned to Bangladesh from Europe on Thursday after he was summoned by student leaders who sought to oust Hasina from power and press for democratic reforms.
He said, “I said, ‘I respect you, I admire you. What you’ve done is absolutely unique.'”
Yunus said that he told them, “Since you ordered me to do this, I accept your order.”
Several top aides to Hasina also subsequently quit their posts, with her tumultuous tenure ending a week ago with her abrupt resignation and move to neighbouring India.
These also included the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Governor of the Central Bank.
The students had given him an ultimatum to resign from his post, but Yunus said that his resignation was taken in a legal manner.
“They want a new court,” he said of the students. “So they went there and asked the chief justice to resign and pressured him to resign.”
“I’m sure they will find a legal way to justify all this, because legally… all the steps were taken,” he said.
– ‘The monster is gone’ –
Hasina, 76, had to flee by helicopter as protesters took over the streets of Dhaka, bringing a dramatic end to her long rule.
His government was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of his political opponents.
“Finally, at this moment, the monster is gone,” Mr Younes said.
However, despite growing public goodwill towards him, Mr. Yunus warned that his interim government faced difficult decisions ahead.
“The moment you start making decisions, some people will like your decisions, some people will not like your decisions,” he said. “Apparently, that’s how it works.”
Yunus made the remarks during an off-the-record media briefing on Sunday night at a state building being used as the government’s temporary headquarters.
His office gave its consent for their publication on Monday evening.
Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, credited with helping lift millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty.
He took over as “chief adviser” to the caretaker administration—which consisted of all civilians except for the retired brigadier general.
He said last week that he wanted to hold elections “within a few months”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
