Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister is heading to safety in… LONDON

Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule ended on Monday 5 August as she fled more than a month of deadly protests and the military announced it would form an interim government. Hasina was, ironically, heading to safety in London. Ironically, because new UK prime minister Keir Starmer said he would ‘send back’ any Bangladeshi people who shouldn’t be in the country.

Sheikh Hasina: gone after substantial bloodshed

Hasina had sought to quell nationwide protests against her government since early July. However, she fled the country after brutal unrest on Sunday 4 August in battles between pro-and anti-government protesters killed nearly 100 people.

It seems many are pleased to see the back of her. Monirul Islam, a 27-year-old man among thousands celebrating in the streets near the prime minister’s palace in the capital Dhaka, said:

We want a corruption-free Bangladesh, where everyone would have the right to express their opinion.

Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a broadcast to the nation on state television that Hasina had resigned and the military would form a caretaker government:

The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed. It is time to stop the violence.

At least 56 people were killed Monday during violence, mainly in Dhaka but also in other cities, police said, saying gangs had launched revenge attacks on Hasina’s allies.

Millions of Bangladeshis took to the streets across the South Asian country, many peacefully.

Jubilant crowds waved flags, some dancing on top of a tank in the streets, before thousands broke through the gates of Hasina’s residence. Others later stormed parliament.

Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into the prime minister’s compound, grinning and waving to the camera, looting furniture and books, or relaxing on beds.

People also took over the homes of Hasina’s Awami League party allies as well as police stations, witnesses told AFP.

Others went after television stations that had backed Hasina’s rule, smashed statues of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero, and set fire to a museum to him. Protester Kaza Ahmed said:

The time has come to make them accountable for torture. Sheikh Hasina is responsible for murder.

Waker said protests should end and vowed that “all the injustices will be addressed”. The career infantry officer said he would talk to the president to form a caretaker government in the nation of about 170 million people. It was not immediately clear if he would lead it.

Flying to the UK, apparently

Security forces had supported Sheikh Hasina’s government throughout the unrest, which began last month in the form of protests against civil service job quotas and then escalated into wider calls for her to stand down.

Waker said he had held talks with the main opposition parties and civil society members but not Hasina’s Awami League. She fled the country by helicopter, a source close to the ousted leader told AFP.

Media in neighbouring India reported Hasina had landed at a military airbase near New Delhi, but a top-level source said she was only “transiting the country” and was heading to London.

UK PM Starmer’s office issued a statement, saying:

The very significant loss of life, including of students, children and law enforcement officers, is completely unacceptable,” the spokesperson said.

The right to peaceful protest must be protected and never subject to violence, and we call on the authorities to release all peaceful protesters and ensure due process is followed for those charged and prosecuted.

We hope that swift action is taken to ensure that democracy prevails and accelerate the process towards peace and security to people in Bangladesh.

However, it did not comment on whether Hasina was coming to the UK.

Hasina’s deadly final legacy

At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, the deadliest day of the unrest, with protesters and government supporters battling each other with sticks and knives, and security forces opening fire.

The latest violence took the total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 356 – many of them students killed by authorities.

Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said on X that Sheikh Hasina’s ousting:

proves the power of the people and will be an example for generations to come, showing how the courage of the people can overpower atrocities.

Congratulations to the students and protesters from all sections of society. Their selfless sense of justice and love for their fellow country people have prevailed on this historic day.

Together, let’s rebuild Bangladesh into a democratic and developed nation, where the rights and freedoms of all people are protected.

Featured image via the Canary