DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday, ending 15 years in power, as thousands of protesters defied a nationwide curfew and stormed her official residence .
In a televised address, Bangladesh's military chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, announced that he was taking over at a “critical time for our country” and confirmed that Hasina had left Dhaka for a “safe place”, as media local reported that neighboring India is her. original destination.
“I am taking responsibility now and we will go to the president and ask to form an interim government to run the country in the meantime,” he said.
Zaman said the army would withdraw and an investigation would be launched into the deadly crackdown that fueled outrage against the government.
“Keep faith in the army, we will investigate all crimes and punish those responsible… I have ordered that no army and police should indulge in any kind of firing,” he said.
“Now it's the students' job to stay calm and help us.”
After the army confirmed Hasina's resignation, thousands of people poured into the streets of the capital in jubilation and chanted slogans. Television footage showed crowds storming Hasina's official residence in the capital, pumping fists, making victory signs and removing furniture and other household items.
Hasina has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and was elected to a fourth consecutive term in a vote in January that was boycotted by her main opponents, raising concerns about how free and fair the vote was.
She was forced out of weeks of protests that began peacefully but turned into deadly clashes with security forces, resulting in communications disruptions, curfews and an estimated 300 deaths.
Students had led earlier protests that began in July to demand reforms to a quota system for government jobs, which the Supreme Court eventually struck down. But as the rallies turned deadly and authorities tried to quell the violence by force, the movement escalated into a campaign to oust Hasina.
At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks, with the unrest leading to the closure of schools and universities across the South Asian nation, and authorities at one point issuing a ban on shooting at sight.
Student activists called for a march to Dhaka on Monday, defying a last minute shutdown to press for Hasina's resignation. This comes after nearly 100 people, including more than a dozen police officers, were killed on Sunday in a fresh wave of deadly clashes across the country.
“SECOND REVOLUTION”
Hasina, 76, was one of the world's longest-serving female leaders and played a key role in politics in Bangladesh, a nation of about 170 million people that declared independence in 1971.
She is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's charismatic founding leader, who was killed in a 1975 military coup when Ms Hasina was 28. She served as prime minister from 1996 to 2001 and regained power in 2009.
Under her leadership, Bangladesh has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, with World Bank estimates showing that more than 25 million people in the country have been lifted out of poverty in the past two decades.
But critics say she has become increasingly autocratic and have called her a threat to the country's democracy, with many saying the recent unrest reflected wider discontent with her leadership.
“Bengalis have witnessed the second revolution in its 52-year history since independence,” Prof ASM Amanullah, professor of sociology at Dhaka University, told Arab News.
Amanullah said the students demanded “total reform” of the country and said all the nation's institutions were corrupt, with the government of the past 15 years to blame.
“It is the power of the people. It is a voice for the rest of the world. It is a voice for the rest of the Indian subcontinent,” Amanullah said.
“If you work against your people, whoever you are, whoever you are, you can't sustain in the long run.”
