DHAKA: Jubilant and hopeful, Bangladeshis on Friday welcomed their new caretaker government led by Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus and led by renowned lawyers, academics and student movement leaders that ousted the previous regime.
The new administration was sworn in at the presidential palace in Dhaka late Thursday, three days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and fled to neighboring India following weeks of nationwide demonstrations and a deadly crackdown on protesters.
“The brutal and autocratic regime is gone,” Yunus said in a televised speech after being sworn in by President Mohammed Shahabuddin along with more than a dozen members of his interim government.
He promised that “democracy, justice, human rights and full freedom of expression without fear will be enjoyed by all, regardless of party affiliation.”
The 84-year-old economics professor will lead the country as “chief adviser” and the titles of his cabinet members will be advisers, not ministers.
They include Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, top leaders of Students Against Discrimination, a group that led the protests that ousted Hasina, and civil servants such as former attorney general AF Hassan Ariff, former foreign secretary Touhid Hossain and Salehuddin Ahmed – economist and a former governor of the country's central bank.
There are also Adilur Rahman Khan, a prominent human rights activist, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an international award-winning environmental lawyer, and Asif Nazrul, a public intellectual, writer and law professor at Dhaka University.
As the new administration took office, Bangladeshis were excited about the nominations and hopeful for the future of their country.
“After our total anarchy and a very serious riot that we experienced very recently, this is a new dynamic,” Gautam Barua, an academic and researcher, told Arab News.
“I'm very hopeful, very, very hopeful about this interim government … I think they're going to bring about a nice change.”
He was glad to see that famous lawyers and economists would be at the helm.
“This cabinet, I think, has the best fine in the country… They are recognized globally and they are recognized domestically, nationally,” Barua said.
“The current economy of the country needs a step up… It went down quite drastically under the regime of the last government. So, I think they can pick it up. They can turn the wheel of the economy.”
There was also pride in having a government full of famous intellectuals and technocrats.
“I think they can bring us a positive change,” said Mahfuz Kaiser, a student from Dhaka. “Dr. Yunus is a very famous person. He is a Nobel Prize laureate. Bangladesh's first Nobel laureate.”
An economics professor, Yunus is a social entrepreneur and banker who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance that helped alleviate poverty in Bangladesh and was widely adopted around the world.
“He will help us build this nation again,” said Jannatul Ferdous Mawa, who is pursuing a degree in media studies and participated in the recent protests.
“I think whatever happens now, it's good for us because we're learning something. From this protest, I learned one thing: if we are together, we can build this nation again.”
Bangladesh's political transition, which ends Hasina's 15-year rule, comes after nationwide protests that began in early July against a quota system for government jobs that has been widely criticized as favoring those with ties to the ruling party.
The demonstrations soon turned violent as security forces clashed with demonstrators, leaving at least 300 dead.
After deadly clashes and a week-long communications blackout, the Supreme Court eventually overturned most of the quotas, but the ruling was followed by a crackdown on protesters.
The arrests of 11,000 rally participants, mostly students, sparked new demonstrations last week, culminating in a civil disobedience movement that on Monday forced Hasina to resign.
A day later, the president dissolved parliament, clearing the way for the interim administration, which will now preside over new elections.
“There are a lot of expectations from this government because this government is led by Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Yunus. I think everyone is looking forward to his work, his progress, his visions. He said there are three zeros: zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon. So I think it will work on these three issues,” Dr. Rawnak Khan, who teaches anthropology at Dhaka University, told Arab News.
“Our institutional infrastructure, the whole situation – we have to build it. The government must ensure transparency, accountability. My expectations from this government are very high. Not only mine; I think everyone is led by Prof. Yunus and depends on his ability to navigate the complex political landscape of Bangladesh.”
