Bangladesh Protesters Want Muhammad Yunus to Lead Government: Bangladesh Protests Update

So, I have got a very significant Bangladesh Protests Update. Protesters in Bangladesh want Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to lead a new government after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left the country.

Nahid Islam, a 26-year-old student leading the protests, said on social media that Yunus agreed to take over. He said, “We want to see this happen by tomorrow morning. We ask the president to make Yunus the head of an interim government right away.”

The protesters are set to meet army officials on Tuesday. Islam said the students won’t accept an army-led government. “We have fought hard and lost lives. We need to build a new Bangladesh. No military or fascist government will be accepted,” he said.

Yunus, 84, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work with microlending. He was accused of corruption during Hasina’s rule but said the charges were political.

A spokesperson for Yunus said he accepted the students’ request and would return to Bangladesh after a medical procedure in Paris.

In Dhaka, things were mostly calm on Tuesday. The Students Against Discrimination group called for peace, though some tension remained. They said they would suggest more names for the government if their demands weren’t met.

After Hasina’s departure on Monday, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman took control temporarily. He talked with major political leaders, excluding Hasina’s Awami League, and said an interim government would run the country. He promised to investigate the deaths of at least 135 people since mid-July.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin said the interim government would hold new elections soon. He also announced the release of opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, who was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges but denied them.

The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Turk, said the power transition in Bangladesh must follow international laws and include all Bangladeshis.

The protests started last month when students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs that favored Hasina’s party. The protests then turned into a larger movement against Hasina, highlighting economic problems in the country.

On Monday, protesters defied a military curfew, marched into the capital, set fire to Hasina’s official residence, and gathered outside the parliament building with a “justice” banner. They also damaged Hasina’s family home-turned-museum.

Hasina landed near New Delhi and met with India’s National Security Adviser. Reports said she was taken to a safe house and might travel to the United Kingdom. Indian media said the government would hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Bangladesh.

Hasina, 76, had been in power since 2009 but was accused of rigging elections in January. Protests grew over the past month, demanding she step down.

Read More, Reportedly The Next Bangladeshi Leader to be: Who is Muhammad Yunus?

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