DHAKA – Bangladesh’s prime minister resigned and fled the country Monday after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule. Thousands of demonstrators stormed her official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's departure threatens to create even more instability in the densely populated nation on India's border that is already dealing with a series of crises, from high unemployment to corruption to climate change. Amid security concerns, the main airport in Dhaka, the capital, suspended operations.
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Violence just before and after her resignation left at least 41 people dead and about 200 others injured, according to media reports, which could not be independently confirmed. More than a dozen were reportedly killed when protesters set fire to a hotel owned by a leader in Hasina's party in the southwestern town of Jashore.
The military chief, Gen. Waker-uz-Zamam said he was temporarily taking control of the country, and soldiers tried to stem the growing unrest. Mohammed Shahabuddin, the country’s figurehead president, announced late Monday after meeting with Waker-uz-Zamam and opposition politicians that Parliament would be dissolved and a national government would be formed as soon as possible, leading to fresh elections.
Speaking after the embattled leader was seen in television footage boarding a military helicopter with her sister, Waker-uz-Zaman sought to reassure a jittery nation that order would be restored. Experts, though, warned the road ahead would be long.
Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets waving flags and cheering to celebrate Hasina's resignation. But some celebrations soon turned violent, with protesters attacking symbols of her government and party, ransacking and setting fires in several buildings.
“This is not just the end of the tyrant Sheikh Hasina, with this we put an end to the mafia state that she has created," declared Sairaj Salekin, a student protester, on the streets of Dhaka.
Protests began peacefully last month as frustrated students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs that they said favored those with connections to the prime minister’s Awami League party. But amid a deadly crackdown, the demonstrations morphed into an unprecedented challenge to Hasina, highlighting the extent of economic distress in Bangladesh, where exports have fallen and foreign exchange reserves are running low.
Waker-uz-Zaman promised that the military would launch an investigation into a crackdown that had left nearly 300 people dead since mid-July, some of the country's worst bloodshed since the 1971 war of independence, and which had fueled outrage against the government. Nearly 100 people, including 14 policemen, were killed Sunday, according to the country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo. At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks.
“Keep faith in the military. We will investigate all the killings and punish the responsible,” he said.
The military wields significant political influence in Bangladesh, which has faced more than 20 coups or coup attempts since independence in 1971. But it was not clear if Hasina's resignation or the military chief's calls for calm would be enough to end the turmoil.
Nahid Islam, a top student coordinator, told reporters late Monday that the movement would propose an outline for the new interim government — and they would not accept any other solution.
Throughout the day, people continued to pour into and out of Hasina’s official residence, where they set fires, carried out furniture and pulled raw fish from the refrigerators. They also massed outside the parliament building, where a banner reading “justice” was hung.
Crowds also ransacked Hasina’s family’s ancestral home-turned-museum where her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — the country’s first president and independence leader — was assassinated. They torched major offices of the ruling party and the country’s two leading, pro-government TV stations — both of which were forced to go off air.
Elsewhere, protests were peaceful, and thousands gathered Monday evening outside the presidential palace, where the military chief, opposition politicians and the country’s figurehead president met.
Hasina, meanwhile, landed in a city in India on the border with Bangladesh, according to a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information to the media. It was not clear where she would go next.
The 76-year-old was elected for a fourth consecutive term in a January vote that was boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed in the lead-up to the polls, and the U.S. and the U.K. denounced the result as not credible, though the government defended it.
Hasina had cultivated ties with powerful countries, including both India and China. But under her, relations with United States and other Western nations have come under strain, as they have expressed concerns over human rights violations and press freedoms in the predominantly Muslim nation of 170 million people.
Her political opponents have previously accused her of growing increasingly autocratic and have blamed the unrest on that authoritarian streak. In total, she served more than 20 years, longer than any other female head of government.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged a peaceful transition, according to a statement from U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, calling for "a full, independent, impartial and transparent investigation into all acts of violence."
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, speaking to reporters in Washington, welcomed the announcement that an interim government would be formed and called for “calm and restraint in the days ahead.”
Ali Riaz, an expert on Bangladeshi politics who teaches political science at Illinois State University, said the country now faces an immense political challenge, as politicians and the military will struggle to restore calm while satisfying various camps and reining in attempts to settle scores.
“So the challenges on the process going forward are daunting,” he said, adding that observers will be watching to ensure that the military's role stays that of mediator, given the history of army takeovers.
Protests continued even after the Supreme Court last month ruled that the quota system — which set aside up to 30% of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan — must be drastically cut.
The debate has highlighted the fact that there’s a lack of quality jobs for college graduates, who increasingly seek the more stable and lucrative government jobs. But there aren’t enough to go around — each year, some 400,000 graduates compete for around 3,000 jobs in the civil service exam.
The unrest has resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew. Fears also rose among Hindus that they might be targeted in the unrest since they are generally thought to be supporters of Hasina’s party.
Authorities also shut off mobile internet on Sunday, and broadband internet was cut briefly Monday but services were restored later in the day.
Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, told the BBC that he doubted his mother would make a political comeback, as she has in the past, saying she was “so disappointed after all her hard work.”
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Pathi reported from New Delhi.