Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus sworn in as Bangladesh’s interim leader after unrest
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took the oath of office as head of Bangladesh’s interim government Thursday following the uprising that prompted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and flee to India.
Yunus’ key tasks for now are to restore peace and prepare for new elections following the weeks of violence during the student-led uprising against Hasina, who was seen as growing increasingly autocratic during her 15-year rule.
Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin swore Yunus in as his chief advisor, the equivalent to a prime minister, at the presidential palace in Dhaka in front of foreign diplomats, members of civil society, business leaders and members of the former opposition party. Hasina’s party was not represented.
Sixteen others have joined the interim Cabinet, most of them from civil society, including two of the student protest leaders. The Cabinet members were chosen in discussions this week among student and civil leaders and the military.
Bangladesh’s prime minister has resigned and fled the country, after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence.
Hasina quit Monday after the chaos that began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs, which critics said favored people with connections to her party. But the demonstrations soon grew into a bigger challenge for Hasina as violence spiraled and more than 300 people including students were killed.
Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, was in Paris for the 2024 Olympics when he was chosen for the interim role; he returned home to tight security at the airport in Dhaka, the capital, on Thursday.
In his first comments after arriving, he said at a news briefing that his priority would be to restore order.
“Bangladesh is a family. We have to unite it,” said Yunus, flanked by student leaders. “It has immense possibility.”
The president had dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the path for the interim administration.
Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, has vowed that the family and her Awami League party will remain engaged in Bangladesh’s politics.
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Yunus is a longtime opponent of Hasina, who had called him a “bloodsucker,” alleging he’d used force to extract loan repayments from rural poor people, mainly women. Yunus has denied the allegations.
The chaos on Bangladesh’s streets continued Wednesday night into early Thursday, as people carried sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons to guard their neighborhoods amid reports of robberies across Dhaka. Police remained off duty. The military shared hotline numbers for people seeking help.
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The unrest began with protests over the quota system, but grew into a broader challenge to Hasina over human rights abuses, corruption, allegations of rigged elections and a brutal crackdown on opponents, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
Many fear Hasina’s departure could trigger more instability in the densely populated nation of some 170million, which is already dealing with high unemployment, corruption and a complex strategic relationship with India, China and the United States.
Hasina, 76, won a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the U.S. and U.K. denounced the result as not credible.
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