While seeking full international support to rebuild Bangladesh, the country’s newly appointed Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus slammed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for destroying every institution in Bangladesh.
Yunus conducted a brief meeting with diplomats in Dhaka where he pledged to conduct participatory polls after “reforms are implemented”, The Dhaka Tribune reported. He promised that the next poll in Bangladesh would be “free and fair”. Yunus was appointed as the country’s chief adviser after Hasina resigned from her post and fled the country amid nationwide anti-government protests.
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Yunus accused deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of destroying every institution of the country in her efforts to stay in power.
“In their efforts to stay in power, Sheikh Hasina’s dictatorship destroyed every institution of the country. The judiciary was broken. Democratic rights were suppressed through a brutal decade-and-a-half-long crackdown,” Yunus said in the meeting. “Banks were robbed with full political patronisation. And the State coffer was plundered by abusing power,” he added.
We want to turn Bangladesh into a ‘real democracy’
While seeking international support, the Nobel laureate said that the task of “rebuilding” the country from shambles is a huge one.
“The revolutionary students want us to carry meaningful and deep reforms, which will turn the country into a real and thriving democracy. The task is huge but doable with the support of all people and the international community,” Yunus told the diplomats in their first briefing since the change in power, The Dhaka Tribune reported.
“Elections were rigged blatantly. Generations of young people grew up without exercising their voting rights,” he added while recalling the reign of Sheikh Hasina. He emphasised that Bangladesh is heading towards a new era where “people, regardless of their political, religious or ethnic identity, will be able to fulfil their aspirations and enjoy full freedom of expression, with the government upholding democracy, justice and human rights and freedom of speech.”
He also assured that the country would be close to normalcy soon while talking about the law and order situation. “We will be close to normalcy within a short period of time, with the unwavering support of our people and patriotic armed forces. The police force has also resumed its operations. The armed forces will continue to serve in aid of civil power as long as the situation warrants,” Yunus averred.
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The Bangladeshi chief adviser emphasised that his interim government will ensure justice and accountability for all the killings. “We want an impartial and internationally credible investigation into the massacre and subsequent due judicial processes. We will provide whatever support the UN investigators need,” he added.
According to The Dhaka Tribune, the meeting took place on Sunday at 12:05 pm (local time) over 50 diplomats, including representatives from UN agencies, attended the briefing.
With inputs from PTI
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