Nobel Winner Yunus Calls for Calm as He Heads to Bangladesh
(Bloomberg) -- Nobel Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus called for calm in Bangladesh as he prepares to return to the country to head an interim government following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
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Yunus, one of the country’s most well-known and respected figures, was picked for the role Tuesday after consultations between President Mohammed Shahabuddin, the army, and protest leaders who had led weeks of demonstrations against Hasina. The 84-year-old has won global accolades for his pioneering work in microfinance.
The interim government will be sworn in on Thursday, the army chief said in a televised address. Earlier Wednesday, an appellate tribunal scrapped a six-month sentence on Yunus in a labor dispute case, clearing a legal hurdle for him to helm the interim government, according to his lawyer.
Yunus, who is scheduled to return to Dhaka on Thursday on a flight from Dubai, congratulated the protesters who ultimately pushed Hasina to resign Monday, describing it as a “second victory day” for the country. He appealed for an end to violence and called on citizens to rebuild the nation.
“Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes,” he said in a statement. “I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence. I appeal to all students, members of all political parties and non-political people to stay calm.”
What started out in late June as peaceful protests seeking to abolish a government jobs quota turned into deadly unrest in recent weeks in which about 350 people were killed. Hasina’s sudden resignation and subsequent fleeing to India followed a weekend of clashes between students and pro-government supporters.
Despite scenes of jubilation on the streets after her resignation, the violence has continued amid a general sense of lawlessness in the country. The police are on strike and local media have reported on incidents of mobs hunting down leaders of Hasina’s party and destroying their property. There were also reportedly attacks against Hindus, a religious minority in the majority-Muslim country.
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Yunus’ immediate task will be to restore calm and order, while also managing demands from protest leaders and the main opposition party — Bangladesh Nationalist Party — which is calling for elections within 90 days.
Tarique Rahman, the son of BNP leader Khaleda Zia, spoke to a crowd of thousands in Dhaka on Wednesday via a video link from London, calling also for an end to violence. He said there should be no attacks on people because of their religious identity or people with any belief. “Anarchy is not an answer to anarchy,” he said.
Aside from Yunus, the president didn’t name any other members of the interim government. In his statement on Tuesday, the president suggested nominations will follow discussion with the country’s political parties, and should include at least one veteran from the country’s 1971 war of independence. It was unclear if Hasina’s Awami League would be invited to join.
“Yunus is an acceptable face for the students and the military because he has no national political party of his own,” said Hasnain Malik, head of equity strategy research at Tellimer. “But that is also why he is probably not a long-term solution if Bangladesh remains, or reverts to, a parliamentary democracy.”
The constitution dictates that elections should be held within 90 days of parliament being dissolved, which took place Tuesday. However, it’s unclear if that rule will be followed. After a 2007 coup, a military-backed caretaker government only relinquished power following elections two years later.
The economy will likely take a further knock as uncertainty persists. S&P Global Ratings, which downgraded Bangladesh’s credit score deeper into junk in July, said Wednesday the political crisis will further hurt growth, the fiscal performance and foreign exchange reserves.
The central bank is also facing turmoil, with four deputy governors resigning on Wednesday under pressure from protesters.
Hasina, the world’s longest serving female head of government, won a fourth term as prime minister in an election in January that was boycotted by her opponents and voters. The US, the biggest buyer of Bangladesh’s exports, had criticized the polls, and imposed visa curbs on members of Hasina’s party and law enforcement officials in September.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the US was watching the new developments closely, adding that “any decisions that the interim government makes need to respect democratic principles, need to uphold the rule of law, need to reflect the will of the people.”
China, which is in talks with Bangladesh over a $5 billion loan to bolster the South Asian nation’s reserves, said it hopes that “social stability will be restored soon.” Meanwhile Pakistan, which was at loggerheads with Hasina for decades over her party’s role in the independence war, said it hoped for “a peaceful and swift return to normalcy.”
--With assistance from Philip Glamann, Akriti Sharma, Khalid Qayum, Eltaf Najafizada and Faseeh Mangi.
(Updates with comments from Yunus.)
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