Hasina’s ‘brutal dictatorship’ destroyed every institution in Bangladesh:Yunus

Dhaka, August 18

Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Sunday alleged that Sheikh Hasina's "brutal dictatorship" destroyed every institution of the country during her decade-and-a-half-long reign when elections were "blatantly rigged."

Briefing foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka for the first time, 10 days after assuming charge as the Chief Advisor of the interim government after Hasina's resignation and her fleeing to India, the 84-year-old Nobel laureate sought the support from the international community to rebuild Bangladesh after the "Second Revolution" following the mass uprising.

Yunus assured the diplomats, including India's High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pranay Verma, that his administration will hold a "free, fair and participatory" election as soon as his government completes the "mandate" of carrying out "vital reforms."

"The revolutionary students want us to carry meaningful and deep reforms, which will turn the country into a real and thriving democracy. The task is huge but doable with the support of all people and the international community," he said.

Hasina, 76, resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs. After Hasina's ouster, Yunus took oath as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8.

"In their efforts to stay in power, Sheikh Hasina's dictatorship destroyed every institution of the country. The judiciary was broken. Democratic rights were suppressed through a brutal decade-and-a-half-long crackdown," Yunus alleged.

Hasina served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024.

Yunus said his government would hold "free, fair and participatory" elections soon but the voting would be held "as soon as we can complete our mandate to carry out vital reforms in our election commission, judiciary, civil administration, security forces, and media".

Yunus said he took over a country that was "in many ways a "complete mess" following the "brutal dictatorship" of Hasina.

Yunus said, "Bangladesh witnessed a Second Revolution, while hundreds of thousands of valiant students and people rose up against the brutal dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina". He emphasised on required reforms in the Election Commission, judiciary, civil administration, security forces and the media.

The chief adviser alleged elections held under Hasina's regime were "rigged blatantly and generations of young people grew up without exercising their voting rights."

"Banks were robbed with full political patronisation. And the state coffer was plundered by abusing power," Yunus said, adding that they will also make sincere efforts to promote national reconciliation.

Yunus said they will undertake robust and far-reaching economic reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and sustained growth, with priority attached to good governance and combating corruption and mismanagement.

"The top priority of the Interim Government would be to bring the law and order situation under control...The armed forces will continue to serve in aid of civil power as long as the situation warrants," he said.

"We will be close to normalcy within a short period, with the unwavering support of our people and patriotic armed forces," Yunus said.

The police force has also resumed its operations. The armed forces will continue to serve in aid of civil power as long as the situation warrants. "Our government remains pledge-bound to ensure the safety and security of all religious and ethnic groups," he said.

Bangladesh saw a spike in violence against members of Hindu communities following the fall of the Hasina-led government.

He said they have also made it a priority to ensure justice and accountability for all the killings and violence committed during the recent mass uprising.

He said they will uphold and promote all their international legal obligations, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law. — PTI

Hasina sued in 2013 ‘mass murder’ case

Dhaka: An application was filed with a court in Bangladesh on Sunday to register a case against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 33 others, accusing them of carrying out a mass murder by indiscriminately firing on a rally organised in 2013 by Hefazat-e-Islam here. Babul Sardar Chakhari, chairman of the Bangladesh People’s Party, applied to the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Zaki-Al-Farabi, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. The application accused them of the “mass murder” during the rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on May 5, 2013. With this, 76-year-old Hasina now faces 11 cases, including eight for murder, one for abduction, and two for committing crimes against humanity and genocide, in Bangladesh. PTI