The reported departure of Sheikh Hasina coincides with a nationwide upsurge in violent protests.
Amid some of the worst bloodshed since the South Asian nation's founding more than 50 years ago, Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has resigned and left the country, the army chief has revealed.
Army Chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman declared he was taking over at "a critical time for our country" and would form an interim administration during a meeting for reporters.
"I assume responsibility now, and we will request the formation of an interim government to govern the nation until further notice."
After demonstrators stormed her palace in the capital, Dhaka, Hasina, 76, who has ruled Bangladesh since 2009, departed by helicopter, a source close to the leader told Agence France-Presse news agency.
The masses that had gathered in Dhaka's streets for yet another day of protest burst into joy.
Before a planned large-scale protest was called for Monday, people told the Guardian of raids and gunshots, including in the wealthiest regions, and the internet was shut down for several hours throughout the night.
Rights groups have accused Hasina's government of abusing state institutions, including the death of opposition activists, to strengthen its grasp on power and quell dissent.
The most recent student-led demonstrations started because of a quota system that they claimed unfairly gave government employment to the offspring of independence fighters from the independence struggle in 1971.
Hundreds have died as a result of the government's violent suppression of protests, which persisted even after the quota law was overturned by the Supreme Court. According to Agence France-Presse, 94 people died on Sunday.
The plan was retracted by Bangladesh's highest court, but the protests continued. In this about 170 million-person South Asian nation, members of the entertainment industry, including singers, musicians, and actresses, had joined the anti-government campaign. Zaman pledged to look into the killings during the briefing at army headquarters.
Despite the implementation of a curfew and the closure of businesses and offices on Monday, demonstrators continued to go to the streets. TV outlets in Bangladesh featured joyful protestors chanting and dancing in various parts of Dhaka.
A protester shared a video of the mob celebrating by marching and yelling, some of them carrying Bangladeshi flags, with the Guardian. The demonstration was supposed to take place close to Shahbagh.
We're dancing in the streets now, and I feel like I'm in another universe," she said. "People are dancing, singing, and celebrating. I've never witnessed so many happy tears. Individuals are both crying and grinning at the same time.
There have been reports of thousands breaking into the prime minister's mansion and stealing vegetables from the gardens and live fish from the on-site ponds as a result of the disorderly celebrations. Inside the facility, vehicles were visible to be on fire. At least one of Hasina's party's Awami League offices in the capital city has been set on fire as a result of vandalism.
A vandal also damaged and destroyed a statue of Hasina's father, former president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who founded Bangladesh.
“These are the heroes and heroines,” he said, referring to protesting students. “We had a crazy dictator. What we are now concerned about is who will benefit from this revolution? And that, in fact, is what we are watching - a revolution.”
The sense of jubilation has been tempered by concern about instability because of the chaos on the streets. The army has announced Dhaka airport will be closed for six hours.
Hasina is the longest-serving leader in the history of the predominantly Muslim country. Before being elected in 2009, in a vote boycotted by the opposition, she had already been prime minister between 1996 and 2001.
Her political opponents have accused her of growing increasingly autocratic and called her a threat to democracy.
Her father, the independence leader of Bangladesh, was assassinated in 1975 during an army coup. Most of his family members were killed, with the exception of his two daughters, Hasina and Sheikh Rehana. Regional media reported Monday afternoon that the two sisters had now fled to India with tens of thousands of people tracking a Hercules military plane thought to be hers.
0 Comments