Restoration of law and order is the biggest issue facing Bangladesh now and if that cannot be achieved, there will be a spillover effect in neighbouring countries including India, Muhammad Yunus, Nobel laureate and founder of Grameen Bank, told NDTV in an exclusive interview today. Now that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been ousted, the situation has taken a turn for the better and the country has to ensure that the celebratory mood doesn’t turn ugly. People should get back home after celebrations and it should be business as usual from morning, he said.
After weeks of massive turmoil in the country, Sheikh Hasina stepped down from the top job today, following a 45-minute ultimatum from the army. She is currently in India but it is not known what her final destination is.
Meanwhile in Bangladesh, the rampage of protesters continued despite her exit. The clashes that followed were between the protesters and the supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. Late in the evening, the protesters entered and ransacked Gono Bhaban, the Prime Minister’s official residence. The statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ms Hasina’s father and the tallest leader in the country’s history who led its fight for Independence from Pakistan was vandalised. The house of a minister was also set on fire.
Asked who was controlling the protesters and how serious the consequences can be if they cannot be brought under control, Mr Yunus said it “would not be a very happy situation”.
“If you destabilise Bangladesh, it will spill over all around Bangladesh, including Myanmar and seven sisters in West Bengal everywhere,” he told NDTV.
“It will be a volcanic eruption everywhere around us and in Myanmar… and it would be a bigger problem because a million Rohingyas are in here,” he said.
Describing the situation, he said there are 170 million people, most of whom are young people who never voted.
“You have to make sure they are happy and law abiding citizens and they know there’s a democracy… These young people never voted in their life. They never went to the polling booth because those elections were never held… Our starting point is we have to get to talk to the young people,” he added.
Bangladesh is currently under the control of its army, which has given assurances of a peaceful solution. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has told the media that the Army will form an interim government with advice from the President. He has also appealed to the protesters to help restore peace in the country.
More than 300 people have died in the violence that has been continuing since last month. The protests had initially started over reservation of government jobs for the families of Bangladesh’s freedom fighters. The protesters said it favours members of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and sought a merit-based system to replace it. As the government cracked down, the matter escalated and the protesters demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation.
