PM resigns as student protests become national uprising

Pressure from a four-week student movement that began peacefully in early July and evolved into an anti-government people’s uprising in Bangladesh has forced Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and flee the country.

A wave of euphoria swept the capital Dhaka as news spread of Hasina’s resignation and hurried departure from the country, with hundreds of thousands of university students, along with people from all walks of life, taking to the streets in delight.

Some unruly mobs stormed the Prime Minister’s office, Prime Minister’s Official Residence and the National Parliament building, which were ransacked.

University World News’ correspondent saw thousands of people enter Ganabhaban, the official residence of the prime minister, taking selfies, and taking away chickens, fish, furniture, even parts of refrigerators, air conditioners, as well as books and other belongings.

Some told University World News they were taking them as ‘memorabilia’ to remember the momentous day.

“I can feel the goosebumps. We waited for this moment for many days. I was not able to talk freely, I was not allowed to cast my vote,” Rafat Alam, a Dhaka University student, told University World News.

With the main opposition party boycotting the January election, many students did not vote.

In a televised address to the nation on Monday afternoon, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said an interim government will be formed to run the country,

Later the same day, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin held an emergency meeting with chiefs of the three armed services, representatives of various political parties and representatives of civil society at his official residence known as Bangabhaban on forming an ‘interim government’.

Shahabuddin said parliament will be dissolved soon and an interim government formed.

In his late-night television address, the president said everyone detained or arrested over the violence during recent student protests would be released and the families of those killed and injured will get compensation.

Over 90 were killed in weekend violence when huge protests resurged after a quieter week following over 200 deaths in clashes between students and police in mid-July. At that time all schools and universities were closed, and a curfew and shoot-on-sight order imposed.

All educational institutions will be reopened soon, the president added.

Students reaction

Nahid Islam, one of the key organisers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, was reported on Monday as saying that the outline of the structure of an interim government will be presented.

“We will propose the names of those who will be in that interim government. We will put [forward] a proposal for forming an interim national unity government within the next 24 hours.

“Students and people who organised the mass upsurge will be part of that interim government. Representatives of civil society and professional bodies will be ensured (a place) in that government, in consultation with them,” he said.

He added: “Now it is our duty to ensure the security of lives and public assets,” urging citizens to act “in a peaceful manner” and prepare “to work for the building of the county.” He also urged people to avoid religious tensions.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement which began on 1 July as a demand by university students for reform of government job quotas – which were benefiting the families of veterans of the 1971 war against Pakistan that brought the country into existence – later added nine demands, including a public apology by Hasina and several other minister and justice for the killing of students during the quota reform protest.

By 2 August the student protest had morphed into an anti-government movement demanding the resignation of several ministers, and later declaring just one demand: the resignation of Hasina.

At least 208 people were killed in indiscriminate firing by law enforcers, by members of Border Guard Bangladesh and by ruling party activists, in violence between 16 July and 3 August.

Another 95 people were killed on 4 August in a new wave of violence when ruling party activists and police clashed with anti-government protesters on the first day of a civil disobedience movement launched by students at the weekend as a ‘non-cooperation movement’.

Hasina was elected for a fourth straight time in January’s elections with an absolute majority. The poll was boycotted by the main opposition party.

The Hasina-led Awami League party originally won a two-thirds majority in the 2008 national polls.

She took power again in 2014, when 153 MPs out of 300 were elected unopposed amid a boycott by the major opposition party. She won the 2018 election with opposition parties alleging ballot stuffing had taken place the night before the poll.

The Hasina government was facing a financial crisis with high inflation, depleted foreign currency reserves, huge loan defaults, slow job growth and others.

People were severely frustrated with widespread corruption as well as sky rocketing hikes of prices of daily necessities, while students feared for their future with high unemployment and the reservation of over 30% of government jobs for war veterans, who are mainly members or supporters of the Awami League.

Momentous Monday

Monday began in a tense atmosphere as the Anti-discrimination Student Movement prepared to begin its ‘Dhaka March’ programme in defiance of the curfew, demanding the government's resignation and protesting against the killing of students and others.

Running battles occurred between student protestors and law enforcers in some parts of the city as students began to march from different parts of the city towards the Shaheed Minar area of the capital, where Dhaka University — the epicentre of the protests — is located,

Law enforcers and military personnel began to put up barricades and barbed wire around the Rampura area of Dhaka, an area with five private universities whose students had taken an active part in the anti-discrimination protests.

However, students swarmed into Rampura from all sides and were embracing each other on the streets. On some occasions they shook hands with the military.

As news of Hasina’s departure spread through city’s Shahbagh intersection, near the Dhaka University campus, students and others chanted slogans, “ai muhurte khobor elo Sheikh Hasina paliye gelo [News just arrived that Hasina has fled]”, ”Hoi Hoi Roi Roi Sheikh Hasina Gelo Koi [Hurrah, where has Hasina gone?]”, and “Sariacharer patan hoilo, janagan mukti pelo [The people are free after the fall of the dictator]” and others.

Safia Khatun, in the street in the Mirpur area with her daughter, told University World News: "Today I got the final result of what my children fought for on the streets. I am happy for our children (the students)”.

Ransacking of the PM’s residence

After the news of Hasina’s resignation, for several hours streams of people of all ages moved towards Ganabhaban shouting slogans, singing, dancing and taking ‘selfies’. Some hoisted the national flag on the roof of the residence, while others entered the main residence, vandalising and smashing things.

Thousands of protesters carrying the national flag also descended on the Prime Minister's Office that afternoon, chanting slogans and taking away many valuables, according to witnesses.

Around the same time, hundreds of thousands of protesters ran into the National Parliament building. Many went inside the House chamber sitting on lawmakers’ benches taking photos.

Delwar Hossain Jony, a student in the physics department of Government Titumir College, Dhaka, who was at the Prime Minister's Office, said many people took equipment from there.

“Some said they were taking it as a memento. But since these are state assets, we are requesting others not to take anything,” he told University World News.