With Bangladesh descending into chaos, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina surreptitiously fled the country in a military aircraft on Monday and the Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum, ending one uncertain chapter and opening another in the nation’s restive history. As news of Hasina’s departure spread, hundreds broke into Hasina’s residence, vandalising and looting the interiors, providing dramatic expression to the anti-Government protests that have killed more than 100 people in the last two days. At the entre of people anger is the Hasina Government’s controversial quota system reserving 30 per cent jobs for families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war.
With volatile crowds taking to the streets — some clambering on Hasina’s father and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s statue and smashing it with hammers in a lasting image underscoring the fickleness of history — Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that the 76-year-old Prime Minister has resigned.
An interim Government will be taking over, he said in a televised address amid feverish speculation about where Hasina was headed. “I’m taking all responsibility (of the country). Please cooperate,” Zaman added, signalling the end of Hasina’s 15-year power run.
The Army chief said he had met political leaders and told them the Army would take over responsibility for law and order. However, there were no leaders from Hasina’s Awami League party at the meeting.
As protests spiralled across the country, the Army chief said he had asked both Army and police not to fire any shots. Zaman also urged restraint and asked protesters to end the violence. He vowed “justice” for all the people.
In Dhaka, restive crowds, swarmed the airport and even spilled into the runway. The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in the city’s Dhanmondi area was damaged. Four Hindu temples suffered “minor” damages across the country, eyewitnesses and a community leader said.
The Bangabandhu memorial museum — dedicated to Mujibur Rahman who was assassinated along with his wife and their three sons while serving as president in 1975 — was also vandalised. Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana had survived the purge as they were abroad. Hasina then spent six years in exile in India.
The home of Dr Wajed Miah, Hasina’s husband, was not spared either in the vortex of violence on Monday, local reports said.
From Ganabhadan, the Prime Minister’s official residence, came extraordinary visuals of protesters storming in and walking away with sofas and even chairs.
