DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s next leader Muhammad Yunus He was returning home from a trip abroad to take office later on Thursday after imploring people to remain calm and be prepared to rebuild the country after an uprising that ended the increasingly autocratic 16-year rule. of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Before leaving Paris, where he had attended the Olympics, Yunus appealed for calm in Bangladesh amid tensions over the country’s future. Bangladesh’s military chief will welcome Yunus when he lands at Dhaka’s main international airport on Thursday afternoon.
yunúswas appointed interim leader following talks between military officers, civic leaders and student activists who led the uprising against Hasina. Yunus made his first public comments in the French capital on Wednesday before boarding a plane to return home.
He will be sworn in Thursday night by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, officials said.
Yunus congratulated the student protesters, saying they had made “our second Victory Day” possible, and called on them and other stakeholders to remain peaceful, while condemning the violence that followed Hasina’s resignation. on Monday.
“Violence is our enemy. Please don’t create more enemies. Stay calm and prepare to build the country,” Yunus said.
Bangladesh military chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a televised speech on Wednesday that he hoped Yunus would launch a “beautiful democratic process.”
Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, told reporters in Paris: “I really want to go back home and see what is happening there and how we can organize ourselves to get out of the trouble we are in.”
When asked when the election would be held, he raised his hands as if to indicate that it was too early to say.
“I will go and talk to them. I’m fresh in this whole area,” she said.
A court in Dhaka on Wednesday acquitted Yunus in a case of violation of labor law involving a telecommunications company he founded, for which he was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison. In the case he had been released on bail.
Shahabuddin, a symbolic figure who temporarily acts as chief executive under the Constitution, on Wednesday asked security officials to take stern action against any troublemakers.
The president dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for an interim administration that is expected to schedule new elections.
Yunus has long opposed Hasina, who had called him a “bloodsucker” for allegedly using force to extract loan payments from the rural poor, mainly women. Yunus has denied the allegations.
In a span of weeks since July 15, more than 300 people died in violence. Rising tensions in the days surrounding Hasina’s resignation created chaos and police abandoned their posts after being attacked. Dozens of officers died, forcing police to stop working across the country. They threaten not to return unless their safety is guaranteed. Local media also reported on the looting of firearms.
The chaos began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favored people with connections to Hasina’s party. But the demonstrations soon became a Broader challenge to Hasina’s 15-year rulewhich was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, accusations of rigged elections and a brutal repression against his opponents.
The quick decision to select Yunus came as Hasina’s resignation created a power vacuum and left the future unclear for Bangladesh, which has a history of military rule, disorderly politics and countless crises.
Many fear that Hasina The exit could cause even more instability. in the densely populated nation of some 170 million people, which already faces high unemployment, corruption and a complex strategic relationship with India, China and the United States.
Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the United States and the United Kingdom denounced the result as not credible.
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