Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country Aug. 5 after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that began as protests against job quotas and swelled into a movement demanding her downfall.
Jubilant crowds stormed into the opulent grounds of the prime minister’s residence in Dhaka unopposed, carrying out looted furniture and TVs. One man balanced a red velvet, gilt-edged chair on his head. Another held an armful of vases. Elsewhere in the capital, protesters climbed atop a statue of Hasina’s father, state founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and began chiseling away at the head with an ax.
Her flight into exile ended a 15-year second stint in power for Hasina, who has ruled for 20 of the last 30 years as leader of the political movement inherited from her father, who was assassinated with most of his family in a 1975 coup.
Army chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that an interim government would be formed.
“I promise you all, we will bring justice (for) all the murders and injustice. We request you to have faith in the army of the country,” he said. “Please don’t go back to the path of violence and please return to nonviolent and peaceful ways.” (Reuters)
毎週届く！
