The coordinators of Bangladesh’s student protest movement were scheduled to meet with the army chief, Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, after the military announced it would form an interim government following the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister.
On Monday, Hasina resigned and fled Bangladesh after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that began as student protests against preferential job quotas and swelled into a movement demanding her downfall. Celebrations erupted on Monday after Hasina resigned.
Early on Tuesday, the US commended the Bangladesh army’s conduct. “The United States has long called for respecting democratic rights in Bangladesh, and we urge that the interim government formation be democratic and inclusive. We commend the army for the restraint they have showed today,” a White House spokesperson said.
The US Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said the interim government must aim to set up swift democratic elections. “PM Hasina’s violent reaction to legitimate protests made her continued rule untenable. I applaud the brave protesters and demand justice for those killed.”
Hasina won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition. The US state department said in January that the elections were not free and fair, adding that Washington was concerned by reports of polling irregularities and violence.
Hasina’s government was accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including through the killing of opposition activists.
The latest student-led protests began over a quota system they said disproportionately allocated government jobs to the descendants of freedom fighters from the 1971 independence war.
The recent protests and crackdown led to some of the worst violence since Bangladesh was founded more than five decades ago. During a briefing at army headquarters, Zaman promised an investigation into the deaths.
The coordinators of the student protests on Tuesday called for the formation of a new interim government with Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus as its chief adviser, according to a video released by on Facebook.
In January he was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, along with three other people, for violating labour laws at Grameen Telecom, the not-for-profit company he founded in 1983. In June Yunus told the Guardian he had come under 20 years of pressure from the Bangladeshi government for his work, which is credited with improving the lives of millions of poor people, particularly women.
Elsewhere, the World Bank said it was assessing the impact of events in Bangladesh on its loan programme, but that it remained committed to supporting the “development aspirations of the people of Bangladesh”.
The World Bank’s board in June approved two projects totalling $900m to help Bangladesh strengthen financial sector policies and improve urban infrastructure.
The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh after its independence and since then has committed about $41bn in grants and interest-free credits.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
