The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasinaresigned from his post on Monday after 15 years in power. The event occurs in the midst of a intense popular uprisingwhich arose from the population’s dissatisfaction with the measure that announced the establishment of a quotas for public service employment.
Given what happened, the army chief from Bangladesh, the general Waker-Uz-Zamandeclared on Monday that he was going to form a “provisional government“, after Sheikh’s resignation. “The country has suffered a lot, the economy has suffered, many people have died… it is time to put an end to the violence”Waker declared.
The resignation of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Sheikh 76 years old, fled the country by helicopteraccording to AFP, shortly after the protesters They raided his palace in Dhakathe country’s capital. On the other hand, local media Prothom Alo reported that the Politics traveled to India along with her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana.
The resignation of the Bangladeshi president was due to the popular uprising in which became the wave of protests that broke out last July and which was carried out, above all, by young students, who They demanded the repeal of a law that fixed quotas for assigning jobs in the Public Administration.
The demonstrations were repressed by the police authorities and, until now, left at least 300 dead. At least 94 of the victims were registered just this Sunday.
Amid the protests, some of the demonstrators headed towards the palace of Ganabhaban, residence and official office of the country’s prime ministers. There, videos shared through the Social media showed people walking through the interior of the government headquarters chanting slogans, while others were seen taking objects, including some of the building’s furniture.
Amid the tense situation, army commander General Waker-uz-Zaman gave a televised address to the nation in which he announced the formation of a “interim government“. Until now The names of Sheikh Hasina’s possible successors are unknownwho ruled Bangladesh with an iron fist for two terms, from 1996 to 2001 and from 2009 to 2024.
The reasons behind the protests in Bangladesh
The nation, located in the South of Asia, is immersed in a strong wave of mobilizationswhich began at the beginning of last July against the controversial quota system. He himself reserved the 30% of government jobs to people related to the war veterans.
The demonstrations began in different locations in different cities of the country, when the Supreme Court ruled the last July 21st the reduction of those quotasAccording to the ruling, only 5% is reserved for such relatives, 93% should be distributed based on meritocracy and the remaining 2% should be allocated to minorities.
Over the last month, the protests have spread amidst other demands such as: high cost of living and the high rates of youth unemployment. This continued to escalate into a direct call for the dismissal of Sheikh, who, last January, won a fourth consecutive term.
In response to this, the student movement in Bangladesh led the protests and warned that they would continue to take to the streets until Parliament passed a bill reflecting their demands. In addition, the protesters also demanded “a judicial investigation into the killings of students and others during the protests and an end to digital repression“, as he said spokesperson for the student groupalso referring to the cutting off the country’s internet and media communications.
On the other hand, the head of the Army added: “The country is going through a revolutionary period (…) I promise everyone that we will do justice for all the murders and injustices“We ask you to have faith in the country’s army. I take full responsibility and assure you not to be discouraged.”
Source: Ambito
