The News
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently quit and fled the country on Monday following weeks of deadly anti-government protests that have left hundreds dead.
The country’s powerful army chief said he will form an interim government in a broadcast to the nation as thousands of demonstrators stormed Hasina’s official residence in the capital Dhaka, while others celebrated her going in the streets. Hasina was reportedly evacuated to neighboring India in an army helicopter, apparently headed for Delhi.
The student-led protests initially erupted in July calling for the end of a quota system for government jobs. But it evolved into a broad anti-government movement, escalated by a police crackdown on dissent and dissatisfaction with Hasina, who was in power for 15 years.
SIGNALS
Bangladesh faces an ‘enormous task ahead’
The task of creating stability and ensuring accountability for recent human rights violations for Bangladesh is “enormous,” the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion told Al Jazeera. “[Bangladesh] is not the poster child of sustainable development anymore,” she said. “The previous government had driven this country into despair, and there would be a lot of hard work to do to build it up.” The student group that initially led the protests immediately voiced their opposition to any potential military government in a statement, and that those who “brought revolution” should decide who takes power, and that “a new political order will be built.”
Not surprising that Hasina fled to India
It’s unclear whether Delhi communicated with Hasina’s government during the protests, but it’s not surprising that she’s seeking refuge there, the BBC noted. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become a “crucial ally” for Hasina, and the pair signed agreements earlier this year emphasizing “connectivity” between the two countries to make it easier for people, information, and goods to flow across their shared border. But as the protests in Bangladesh escalated, Delhi faced a conundrum: If it continued to outwardly support Hasina, it risked alienating the protest movement and ruining any future relationship with Bangladesh. Hasina’s resignation appears to have solved that problem.
Economy in worse shape since unrest began
The escalation of unrest has pushed Bangladesh into an even worse economic situation than it was in already, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada noted. The cost of household goods has soared amid the lockdowns, while the internet shutdown cost the country upwards of $10 billion. The country’s lucrative garment sector, which accounts for the majority of Bangladesh’s export revenue, was hit by factory closings. Lifting it back up will be difficult so long as the unrest continues, Bangladeshi outlet The Daily Star added. “The economy’s operating system cannot reboot without hick-ups if the institutional hardware has malfunctions such as overt and covert political unrest, curfew, fear, digital disconnects, and closed educational institutions,” a columnist wrote.