Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as Bangladesh’s interim chief, vowing to “uphold, assist and shield the structure”.
The 84-year-old took an oath on the presidential palace in Dhaka together with greater than a dozen members of his new cupboard, vowing to carry out his duties “sincerely”.
He flew into the capital, Dhaka, simply days after Sheikh Hasina – the girl who dominated Bangladesh with an iron fist for 15 years – fled throughout the border to India.
Ms Hasina resigned as prime minister after weeks of student-led protests – which left tons of useless – escalated and culminated in requires her to stand down.
The choice to identify Prof Yunus as chief adviser of the interim government adopted a gathering between President Mohammed Shahabuddin, navy leaders and scholar leaders.
The college students had been clear they’d not settle for a military-led government, however needed Prof Yunus to lead.
Among his new cupboard are Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, college students who led the anti-government protests.
The hope is Prof Yunus, the so-called banker for the poor, will carry democracy again to Bangladesh after years of autocratic rule.
“People are excited,” the entrepreneur and economist informed the BBC moments after arriving in Dhaka from France on Thursday.
He later informed reporters that Bangladesh “has bought a second independence” as he referred to as for the restoration of legislation and order in the nation of 170 million individuals.
Following Prof Yunus’s swearing in, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi supplied his “greatest needs”, writing on X/Twitter that his government was “dedicated” to working with its neighbour for “peace, safety and improvement”.
Prof Yunus paid tribute to those that died, saying they’d “protected the nation” and given it “new life” after Ms Hasina’s rule.
She had begun that rule as an emblem of democracy however, by the point she fled, she was thought of an autocrat who had sought to entrench her authority by silencing dissent.
Prisons have been full of individuals who sought to converse out in opposition to her. Prof Yunus – lauded for his pioneering use of micro-loans – was a kind of who discovered themselves in authorized hassle throughout her tenure.
Ms Hasina regarded him as a public enemy – he’s presently on bail, interesting in opposition to a six-month jail time period in what he has referred to as a politically-motivated case.
Speaking on Thursday, he referred to as on the nation’s younger individuals to assist him rebuild the South Asian nation.
“Bangladesh is usually a stunning nation, however we destroyed the chances,” he mentioned.
“Now we’ve got to construct a seedbed once more – the brand new seedbed will likely be constructed by them,” he added, gesticulating in direction of the scholars who had arrived to greet him.
EPAHis ascension as Bangladesh’s interim chief follows weeks of turmoil.
More than 400 individuals are reported to have died after protests searching for to abolish a quota system for civil service jobs started in July.
A 3rd of those jobs are reserved for family members of veterans from Bangladesh’s warfare of independence from Pakistan, which befell in 1971. Campaigners argued the system was discriminatory and wanted to be overhauled.
Though this demand was largely met after the Supreme Court backed the scholars’ calls for and vastly decreased the dimensions of the quota system, the protests then reworked right into a wider anti-government motion fuelled by crackdowns.
Bangladeshi media and demonstrators blamed police for the spiralling loss of life toll. Officials maintained that officers solely ever opened fireplace out of self-defence or to shield state property.
Students and their supporters had deliberate to march on the prime minister’s residence on Monday.
But earlier than the march may get correctly shifting, the information got here that Sheikh Hasina had fled Bangladesh and resigned as prime minister. She is presently in Delhi.
