Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country via military helicopter on Monday after which the South Asian nation’s army chief announced that an interim government would be formed.
The development comes following weeks of violent protests that have engulfed the country and have reportedly resulted in hundreds of deaths as rioters have clashed with police. On Monday, the protesters stormed the prime minister’s palace in the capital of Dhaka, demanding Hasina’s resignation.
In an emergency press conference, Bangladesh army chief Waker-uz-Zaman announced that Hasina had resigned and that a new interim government would now be formed to run the country. He called on the protesters to disperse and go home, asking citizens to maintain their trust in the army, which will work to restore peace.
Zaman vowed that all the deaths that have occurred over the past few weeks of violent protests will be investigated and asked the demonstrators to give the army “some time” as it works to find a solution to the crisis.
He also said that the representatives of all the main political parties of the country have been invited to collaborate in forming the interim government and are already in discussions with the army.
The army chief added that there is no need for a curfew or a state of emergency in the country and stated that he has ordered the army not to use force and asked the protesters to help to restore peace.
News of Hasina’s resignation appears to have resonated well with the protesters, who could be seen cheering in the streets following Zaman’s announcement.
However, the Students Against Discrimination group, which has spearheaded the anti-government protests, responded to army chief's statement by saying it would reject military rule. The group insisted that power must be handed over to the “revolutionary students and citizens” and that any other scenario would “not be accepted.”
The coordinators of the group demanded in a post on Facebook that all the “innocent people” and “political prisoners” must be released by the end of the day. They also stated that Hasina’s government and the “fascist system” will be abolished and that a “new Bangladesh and political order will be built.
“No one will leave the streets without achieving final victory,” the group said.
The student protests initially broke out last month after a controversial government job quota, which favored the children of war veterans, was introduced by the Bangladesh High Court. Hasina’s government responded to the protests by imposing a nationwide curfew, ordering a countrywide mobile internet blackout, shutting down universities, and using the military and riot police to disperse demonstrators.
In the weeks that followed, several hundred people, mostly students, reportedly lost their lives amid clashes involving protesters, the police, and pro-government activists, while thousands have been arrested.