What started as a protest to reform the quota system soon spiralled into a campaign seeking Hasina’s ouster.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, resigned on Monday and fled the country as more than 300 people were killed in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.
Announcing the development in an address to the nation, Bangladesh army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said he would “form an interim government”. It is unclear, however, if he would head the caretaker government himself.
“We will form an interim government,” Waker said. “The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” he added.
Since July, Bangladesh has been engulfed by protests and violence as hundreds of thousands of students took to the streets against reserved quotas in government jobs. The demonstrations escalated into a campaign to seek the ouster of Hasina, who had been in power for the last 16 years.
Earlier today, students in Bangladesh called for a march to Dhaka in defiance of a nationwide curfew, a day after fresh clashes in the country killed at least 91 people.
Here is how the latest developments unfolded:
Calls for Hasina to step down
The ‘Students Against Discrimination’ group, at the forefront of last month’s job quota protests, led the latest demonstrations.
The protests to reform the quota system paused after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas on July 21. However, protesters returned last week demanding a public apology from Hasina for the violence, restoration of internet connections, reopening of college and university campuses and release of those arrested.
By the weekend, the demonstrations spiralled into a campaign seeking Hasina’s ouster as demonstrators demanded justice for people killed last month.
The students’ group called for a nationwide non-cooperation movement starting Sunday with a single-point agenda — Hasina must resign.
Why did protesters want Hasina’s resignation?
The protesters blamed Hasina’s government for the violence during the protests in July. Hasina’s critics and rights groups accused her government of using excessive force against protesters, a charge her government denied.
What Hasina said recently?
Hasina and her government initially said students were not involved in the violence during the quota protests and blamed the religio-political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the clashes and arson.
After violence erupted again on Sunday, Hasina said that “those who are carrying out violence are not students but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation”.
The students’ group declined Hasina’s offer for talks to resolve the crisis.
What triggered the job quota protests?
Demonstrations started at university campuses in June after the High Court reinstated a quota system for government jobs, overturning a 2018 decision by Hasina’s government to scrap it.
The Supreme Court suspended the high court order after the government’s appeal and then dismissed the lower court order last month, directing that 93 per cent of jobs should be open to candidates on merit.
Flagging economy, unemployment
Experts also attribute the current unrest in Bangladesh to stagnant job growth in the private sector, making public sector jobs, with their accompanying regular wage hikes and privileges, very attractive.
The quotas sparked anger among students grappling with high youth unemployment, as nearly 32 million young people are out of work or education in a population of 170 million.
Hasina wins January election
Hasina retained power for a fourth straight term — her fifth overall — in a January general election boycotted by the BNP, which accused her Awami League of trying to legitimise sham elections.
BNP said 10 million party workers were on the run ahead of the election with nearly 25,000 arrested following deadly anti-government protests on Oct 28. Hasina blamed the BNP for instigating anti-government protests that rocked Dhaka ahead of the election and left at least 10 people dead.
Header image: A policeman walks past a portrait of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka on January 8, 2024. —AFP
