BANGLADESH – Students protested for fairer access to government jobs and were met with violence, including the killing of nearly 300 people, sparking a broader movement for justice that has forced Hasina to step down.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country as protesters stormed the palace. Huge crowds have been seen cheering ‘she’s gone’ at Hasina’s residence. More people have been killed in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed-Joy, said that his mother will not be returning to politics following her resignation on Monday. Hasina stepped down after weeks of unrest over job quotas and fled the country, landing at Hindon Air-Base near New Delhi.
Defending his mother’s tenure, he said, “She changed Bangladesh. When she came to power, it was a failed state, a poor country. Today, it is considered one of the rising tigers of Asia. She is very disappointed.”
Anti-government protestors gather inside Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s palace in Dhaka on August 5, 2024. Bangladesh army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman spent nearly four decades rising to the top of the military and said on August 5, he was “taking full responsibility” after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted and fled (Photo by K M ASAD / AFP)
An anti-government protestor vandalises a portrait of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as others set the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on fire in Dhaka on August 5, 2024. Protests in Bangladesh that began as student-led demonstrations against government hiring rules in July culminated on August 5, in the prime minister fleeing and the military announcing it would form an interim government. (Photo by Abu SUFIAN JEWEL / AFP)Anti-government protestors vandalise the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhaka on August 5, 2024. Protests in Bangladesh that began as student-led demonstrations against government hiring rules in July culminated on August 5, in the prime minister fleeing and the military announcing it would form an interim government. (Photo by Abu SUFIAN JEWEL / AFP)
Anti-government protestors vandalise Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s palace in Dhaka on August 5, 2024. Bangladesh army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman spent nearly four decades rising to the top of the military and said on August 5, he was “taking full responsibility” after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted and fled (Photo by K M ASAD / AFP)
