The deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League has announced a nine-day roster of peaceful protests — the first such political activity since its government was overthrown on August 5, 2024 — across Bangladesh in February to bring an end to the Muhammad Yunus regime.
At a time when the interim government under the Nobel Peace Prize winner is grappling with the twin problems of unprecedented economic crisis and breakdown in law and order, the protest programmes are drawn up to give voice to the ordinary people of Bangladesh, A.F.M Bahauddin Nasim, joint AL secretary, told The Telegraph from an undisclosed location.
“In less than six months, Yunus and his team have turned Bangladesh into a failed state... Ordinary people are in a miserable state due to a collapse of economic activities, unbridled price rise, breakdown of law-and-order, rampant human rights violations and rise of radical Islamist forces,” he said.
“People of Bangladesh do not want this interim government, which doesn’t have any constitutional validity, to be in power for even another day.... AL being a party of ordinary people of Bangladesh is organising the programmes to give voice to people’s concerns,” added Nasim, a former MP and a top leader of the AL.
While the AL top brass is hopeful that the spate of programmes from February 1 — including strikes and blockades — will be successful in terms of participation of ordinary people, the Yunus government issued a warning by announcing legal action against those, who will participate in “illegal protests” under the banner of AL.
Shafiqul Alam, the chief adviser’s press secretary, also wrote in his Facebook post that any attempt to push the country towards violence will be dealt with strongly, setting the stage for more unrest in Bangladesh in the coming months.
“This government doesn’t have any mandate... Who is the press secretary to issue warnings to the people of Bangladesh?” said Nasim, before adding that people would give the government a befitting reply.
Though Yunus took charge of the country with the promise of creating a new Bangladesh, the six-month report card of the interim regime has belied the expectations amid reports of distress in all sectors of the economy and a general sense of fear among people due to breakdown of law and order. Some form of protest has become an order of the day in capital Dhaka as the last few months have seen people from different walks of life like rickshaw-pullers, primary school teachers, workers in readymade garment sector and railway employees hitting the streets with their wishlists.
In his Facebook post, Alam himself mentioned that at least 136 protests took place in Dhaka in the last five-and-a-half months, the statistic aimed at establishing the democratic credentials of the government, which didn’t prevent protest activities.
“The protests are indicative of the failure in running the affairs of the country... It’s an irony that the government is using the protest count to claim its commitment to democratic values,” said a veteran journalist from Dhaka on conditions of anonymity.
“Yunus has inflicted some radical Islamist rogues on the people of this country. These rogue elements, calling themselves as student leaders, have forced sitting judges and university teachers to resign. These rogue elements are flouting all rules and law enforcers, including the army, cannot control them,” the source added.
The fact that the disenchantment with Yunus, especially his team, is growing due to their failure in governance became apparent as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition force during Hasina’s sixteen year stint at the helm, also announced its plans to launch a movement against the Yunus regime.
When Yunus took charge on August 8, the BNP had been firmly behind him, pledging all possible support. The bonhomie, however, has been short-lived as the BNP leadership is opposed to the interim regime’s plans to cling on to power on the pretext of carrying out reforms before holding the next general elections.
“We are thinking about correcting some government mistakes and bringing it to the right path... To clear the way for an elected political government, we will take some steps very soon. You can call it a movement,” BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed was quoted in Bangladeshi media.
Meanwhile, a section of the Bangladeshi civil society has begun arguing that the interim regime, which doesn’t have any constitutional mandate, is not authorised to hold elections and it must be replaced with a caretaker government without any delay. With this hypothesis gaining ground across the political spectrum, the interim regime’s continuation at the helm is increasingly becoming untenable.
Against this backdrop, the timing of the AL’s protest activities is significant, felt a Dhaka-based academic.
“The popular mood is definitely against Yunus and his team... Even those who had supported the movement against Hasina are saying that they were better off in her regime. Now questions are being raised about the legal sanctity of the interim government, which is on the verge of losing the BNP’s support,” said the source.
“That’s why the timing of the AL protest is right... Given the sense of fear among people, it is difficult to forecast the success of the programme.
But if the interim government uses force, it will surely be a boon for the AL, which is trying to claw back in Bangladesh politics,” the academic said.