Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sworn in Thursday as head of Bangladesh’s interim government, where he is expected to lead “a democratic process” toward elections after the 15-year rule of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
“I will defend, support and protect the Constitution,” Yunus said during the ceremony, adding that he would “sincerely” carry out his duties as “chief adviser”, his official title, an AFP journalist noted.
Other members of the interim government, all of whom are titled “advisers” rather than “ministers,” include Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, leaders of the student movement that began in early July and brought down Sheikh Hasina.
The government also includes former foreign minister Touhid Hossain, former attorney general Hassan Ariff, environmental lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and prominent law professor and writer Asif Nazrul.
Upon his arrival in the country at midday from Paris, the 84-year-old economist hailed in front of the press and his supporters a “glorious day” and “a second independence” for the country, in reference to the country’s independence in 1971 following the third war between Pakistan and India.
“Restore democracy”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately extended his best wishes to Muhammad Yunus, stressing that his country remained “committed to working […] to the peace and security of the two neighboring countries.
The return of Mrs Hasina’s former bête noire, forced into exile after a conviction earlier this year that was considered political by her defenders, has raised much hope in the country, after violence that left more than 455 dead and the helicopter flight on Monday of the former leader accused of repression and human rights abuses.
“I think he can restore democracy” and “rebuild our country,” summed up, euphorically, Suleiman Islam Russell, a 25-year-old street vendor who came to greet the economist on his arrival at Dhaka airport on Thursday.
Mr Yunus assured that his priority would be to restore “law and order”. “If you trust me, make sure that there is no attack on anyone, anywhere in the country,” he insisted.
Army chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman backed Mr. Yunus, saying in a televised speech on Wednesday that he was “certain” that the Nobel laureate would be “capable of leading a beautiful democratic process.”
The Nobel Prize winner launched a “vibrant appeal for calm” to his compatriots, asking students to avoid any act of revenge.
On Monday, millions of Bangladeshis took to the streets of Dhaka, storming parliament, torching pro-government television stations and destroying statues of the ousted prime minister’s father, independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Vote “as soon as possible”
Offices of Hasina’s Awami League party have been torched and looted across the country. Shops and homes belonging to Hindus – a group seen by some as close to the former leader – have also been attacked.
Since then, “several hundred Bangladeshi nationals, mostly Hindus, have gathered at different places along the border” with India, said Amit Kumar Tyagi, deputy inspector general of India’s Border Security Force (BSF).
In India’s Jalpaiguri district, more than 600 Bangladeshis have crossed into the border no-man’s land, Tyagi said. “Since there is no fence here, BSF personnel have formed a human shield to keep them at bay,” he told AFP.
Tarique Rahman, acting president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition to Ms Hasina, called on Wednesday for elections to be held “as soon as possible” in a video address from his London exile to a huge crowd in Dhaka.
Mr Yunus’s comeback was helped by his acquittal on Wednesday in an appeals trial on labour charges. His six-month prison sentence at first instance in January, the only one handed down in more than 100 cases against him, was seen as political by his defenders.
The economist, known for lifting millions out of poverty through his pioneering microfinance bank, had drawn the ire of Ms Hasina, who accused him of “sucking the blood” of the poor.
President Shahabuddin dissolved parliament on Tuesday, as demanded by protesting students and the BNP, after ordering the release of those arrested during the protests and political prisoners.
Police and army reshuffled
In another sign of appeasement, the new police chief Mainul Islam promised on Wednesday an “impartial” investigation into the protests and apologized for the conduct of his predecessors, who were dismissed by the president.
The army has also reshuffled its command, notably by demoting certain senior officers considered close to Ms Hasina.
The protests began after the reintroduction of a system reserving nearly a third of civil service jobs for descendants of war veterans. Human rights groups accused Hasina’s government of trying to harness the institutions to stamp out dissent.
Hasina, 76, was prime minister from 1996 to 2001 before returning to power in 2009. She won a fifth term in January in an election without any real opposition. Disowned by the military, she fled by helicopter to India on Monday.