‘My country is free again’: Bangladesh celebrates PM Hasina’s departure
Big crowds in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka have been celebrating the forced resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has reportedly landed in India after fleeing the country.
“I’m here to enjoy my freedom. My country is free again,” 17-year-old student Fatima tells the BBC.
“Me and my brother and sisters have fought for it – and it’s finally freedom.
“We can do what we love [doing] – not what we’re told to do,” she adds.
Rasoova, who is a businesswoman, talks to the BBC
“The last few weeks made us so depressed… we had lost our freedom of speech,” Rasoova, who is a businesswoman, tells the BBC.
“And today you can see everyone is out here. Victory is here,” she says, adding that the main priority now is to tackle widespread corruption.
If you’re just joining us, here is all latest on an historic day in Bangladesh:
- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has led Bangladesh since 2009, has resigned and fled the country after weeks of protests against her government
- Hasina is reported to have flown to India as thousands of demonstrators advanced towards her official residence
- Widespread celebrations have broken out in the streets since her resignation was announced, but there are also scattered reports of looting, with the AFP news agency reporting at least 20 people have been killed in Dhaka
- Elsewhere, there have been reports of police buildings set on fire and a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Hasina’s father and independence leader – was vandalised
- In a televised address, the head of the army said an interim government will be formed – hopefully by the end of the day. Gen Waker-uz-Zaman did not say who would head it. As yet, there has been no further word on that
- Since demonstrations against civil service hiring quotas broke out last month, hundreds of people have been killed in clashes with security forces. These demonstrations morphed into a revolt against Hasina’s government
Stay with us and we will continue to bring you all the latest updates from Bangladesh and India.
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At least 20 reported killed in Dhaka violence on Monday – AFPpublished at 15:04
Image source,Getty ImagesAt least 20 people are reported to have been killed in violent clashes in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka so far today.
“We’ve got 20 bodies here,” Bacchu Mia, a police inspector at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, tells AFP news agency, without giving any further details.
The reported casualty numbers have not been independently verified.
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In Pictures: Celebrations and looting on streets of Dhakapublished at 14:39
As we have reported, thousands of people have gone out in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka to celebrate the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
But amongst the celebrations, there are reports of looting. Demonstrators breaking into Hasina’s official residence and taking furniture with a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Hasina’s father – vandalised.
Let’s take a look at what’s been like in Dhaka today:
Image source,ReutersImage caption, People have been shaking hands with military officers. Earlier the head of the army said an interim government would be formed.
Image source,Reuters
Image caption, A statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Ganabhaban – the prime minister’s official residence – has been vandalised by protestors.
Image source,Shahnewaz Rocky / BBC -
Despite historic ties, India will want to tread carefullypublished at 14:22
Yogita Limaye
South Asia correspondent
Image source,EPAImage caption, Members of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation demonstrated in support of Bangladeshi students last month.
Sheikh Hasina and her family share historic ties with India.
India fought alongside Bangladesh’s freedom leaders in its war for independence from Pakistan in 1971, after which Sheikh Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became Bangladesh’s first president.
In 1975, after the assassination of her father and most of her family in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina and her sister were granted political asylum in India for several years.
Across political parties in India, Hasina has found support because the Indian establishment has long seen her as a way of keeping radical Islamist groups out of power in Bangladesh.
India has also sought to have influence in Bangladesh to counter its regional rivalry with China.
But it’s for those reasons, India will want to tread carefully in this moment, as it will want to maintain relations with whoever becomes the next leader of Bangladesh.
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Swift action needed to protect democracy, UK sayspublished at 14:08
Image source,Getty ImagesSwift action is needed to “ensure democracy prevails” in Bangladesh, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says.
Downing Street’s official spokesperson tells reporters in London that the prime minister is “deeply saddened by the violence we’ve seen in Bangladesh in recent weeks”.
He added: “I hope that swift action is taken to ensure that democracy prevails and accelerate the process towards peace and security to people in Bangladesh.”
His words come as speculation over Sheikh Hasina’s final destination grows. Some local media in India and Bangladesh have suggested she might travel to London.
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She is very disappointed, says Hasina’s sonpublished at 13:49
Image source,EPAImage caption, Sheikh Hasina’s son says she was “so disappointed”
Sheikh Hasina’s son has told the BBC that there will be no political comeback for his mother, saying she was “so disappointed that after all her hard work, for a minority to rise up against her”.
Speaking to Newshour on the BBC World Service, Sajeeb Wazed Joy – who was an official adviser of the prime minister until today – says his mother had been considering resigning since yesterday and had left the country for her own safety after her family insisted.
Defending his mother’s record in power, he says: “She has turned Bangladesh around. When she took over power it was considered a failing state. It was a poor country. Until today it was considered one of the rising tigers of Asia. She’s very disappointed.”
Joy rejects accusations that the government had been heavy-handed in dealing with protestors: “You’ve had policemen beaten to death – 13 just yesterday. So what do you expect the police to do when mobs are beating people to death?”
Hundreds of people have died in the protests so far, with the vast majority protesters.
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Former Bangladesh PM lands in India – reportspublished at 13:40
We are seeing reports that Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister has landed at the Hindon Air Base in Delhi.
We don’t yet know if Hasina plans to stay in India or will move on, but some sections of local media are speculating she may be on her way to London. This is not confirmed.
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‘Bangladesh is on the verge of an economic implosion,’ says professorpublished at 13:14
Regime change in Bangladesh is “an economic inevitability – a matter of when, not if”, according to Lutfey Siddiqi, a visiting professor-in-practice at the London School of Economics.
“Sheikh Hasina’s government appears to have lost both the right and might to govern. Soon it will run out of the resources to do so as well,” Siddiqi told the BBC. “Bangladesh is on the verge of an economic implosion.”
The same youth demographic that is largely spearheading the protests are also Bangladesh’s “core natural resource”, according to Siddiqi, who described them as “an asset that can easily flip into a liability without employment, hope or representation”.
More than 40% of Bangladeshi citizens aged between 15 and 24 are neither employed nor in education.
This, combined with persistent inflation and other economic woes, has created “an economic tinderbox that was simply waiting for a spark,” Siddiqi says.oes, created “an economic tinderbox that was simply waiting for a spark,” Siddiqi said.
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Closer look: What’s behind the deadly protests in Bangladesh?published at 12:53
Image source,Getty ImagesImage caption, This photo is from the July protests where the demonstrations were called the ‘Bangla Blockade’
As we bring you more details about the resignation of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country after her resignation, let’s take a closer look at how we got here.
Last month, there were deadly protests in Bangladesh when students demanded an end to the quota system which set aside a third of coveted government jobs for specific sections of society – including the relatives of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
In response, the Bangladesh Supreme Court reduced the number of reserved jobs to just five per cent, prompting the protests which then spiralled into demands for Hasina to quit after over two decades in power.
In an episode of the Global Story podcast from July, we hear from experienced journalists covering the region including BBC World Service South Asia Regional Editor Anbarasan Ethirajan, and Sabir Mustafa, who was the head of the BBC’s Bengali language service for 22 years.
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Widespread looting reported in Dhakapublished at 12:39
Our colleagues in BBC Bangla are now reporting widespread looting in Dhaka.
Demonstrators have reportedly broken into and damaged the residence of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in the Dhanmondi area of the capital.
BBC Bangla say smoke has been seen coming out of the house, after protesters stormed the main gates and entered the building.
Across the city, at the prime minister’s official residence, people have been seen taking furniture from Sheikh Hasina’s office.
One demonstrator told the BBC that a statue of the now ex-PM’s father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has also been damaged.
A memorial museum to Mujibur, who was assassinated while serving as president in 1975, has also been set on fire by demonstrators.
Elsewhere, in the eastern city of Sylhet, the offices of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police have reportedly been set on fire, while the homes of several councillors have also been attacked.
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Watch: Bangladesh protesters storm PM’s residencepublished at 12:19
Protesters in Bangladesh have stormed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official residence in the capital Dhaka.
Reuters news agency shared the footage, which was broadcast live by Bangladeshi-Bengali TV station Channel 24 earlier today.
Hasina resigned earlier today, and fled the country. It is believed she is headed for India, but that has yet to be confirmed.
This comes a day after clashes between police and protesters left at least 90 people dead in Bangladesh.
Protesters tear down statue of PM’s fatherpublished at 12:06
One demonstrator has told the BBC that a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Ganabhaban – the prime minister’s official residence – is being demolished by protestors.
He was Sheikh Hasina’s father and an independence movement leader.
Sayem Faruk tells the BBC that the scenes are reminiscent of Saddam Hussein’s statue being taken down in Iraq in 2003. He says people are attacking the statue.
Some personal cars of ministers abandoned in the area are also being damaged by the crowd, while other people are climbing on top of armoured vehicles, Faruk says.
He adds that army troops on the streets seem relieved by Hasina’s departure.
BBC
