DHAKA: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and his newly appointed caretaker government set out on Friday to restore “law and order” after a student uprising and deadly mass protests forced Sheikh Hasina’s predecessor into exile.
A day after returning home from Europe and pledging to “uphold, support and protect the constitution” after taking the oath of office, the 84-year-old Yunus began the daunting task of returning the country to democracy.
“The number one challenge is law and order,” Touhid Hossain, who took over the foreign ministry portfolio, told reporters. “If that is secured, the rest will be in order.
Hasina, 76, accused of widespread human rights abuses including jailing her political opponents, fled by helicopter to neighboring India on Monday as protesters flooded the streets of Dhaka in a dramatic end to her 15-year rule.
The military announced her resignation and then agreed to student demands that Yunus – who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance – lead an interim government.
Yunus, who assumed the title of “chief adviser” to the interim administration, made up of civilian colleagues except for one retired brigadier general, said he wanted to hold elections “within a few months”.
It is unclear when the vote might take place.
Officials from Hasina’s former ruling party, the Awami League, have gone into hiding after reprisal attacks saw some of their offices torched, while former opposition groups such as the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are rebuilding after years of crushing repression. Several of Yunus’ advisers are loosely connected to the BNP, led by Hasina’s long-time rival and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, 78, newly released after years of house arrest.
