It’s a new day and a new ray of hope for Bangladesh. The country that has been witnessing violent clashes over the past few days will see an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus taking oath on Thursday. The 84-year-old will replace Bangladesh’s long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who resigned and fled to India on Monday amid widespread protests.
Yunus will arrive in Dhaka from Paris on Thursday. The caretaker government in Bangladesh will take oath at 8 pm on August 8.
Before leaving for Dhaka, Yunus told reporters at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport that he has been looking forward to returning home and “see what’s happening there and how we can organise ourselves to get out of the trouble that we are in.”
Many opportunities to heal rifts with India
Yunus, in an article he wrote in The Economist, said that there will be many opportunities to “resume” bilateral ties and “close friendships” with India soon.
“Although some countries, such as India, backed the ousted prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) and earned the enmity of Bangladeshi people as a result, there will be many opportunities to heal these kinds of rifts and to resume bilateral alliances and close friendships soon,” Yunus said.
The Nobel laureate, who is all set to lead the interim government, further hopes that the “liberation” of Bangladesh can revive the suspended South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation and “make it a powerful force for integration in our region and beyond.”
What will be Yunus’ next step?
Yunus said that the next step of the interim government will be to release all political prisoners and ensure that free and fair election is held within a few months.
“I am willing to help support this process, and I hope other people will join me,” he said.
Overjoyed & mourned the day Sheikh Hasina resigned
Yunus said on August 5, the demand of the protesters in Bangladesh was met when Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled from the country.
“Like virtually all of my fellow citizens, I was overjoyed, even as I mourned the loss of more than 300 lives to state-sponsored violence against peaceful protesters and bystanders,” he said.
Bangladesh needs ‘young people’
“We urgently need new politicians, and new leaders to step forward. Above all, we need young people who are not obsessed with settling scores, as too many of our previous governments were, but are instead intent on becoming a new generation of leaders focused on the future of our great nation,” Yunus said.
“The student leaders who were at the forefront of our second liberation—after the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971—should continue to provide leadership in all respects,” he added.
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There will be many opportunities to heal rifts with India: Muhammad Yunus
