Nobel laureate Yunus arrives in Dhaka to take over as interim leader

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus speaks to the media at the airport as he arrives in Dhaka yesterday

Bangladesh’s next leader Muhammad Yunus arrived home yesterday from an overseas trip and will take office later in the day, as he looks to restore calm and rebuild the country following an uprising that ended the 15-year, increasingly autocratic rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Yunus landed at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the afternoon and was welcomed by the country’s military chief, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman, who was flanked by navy and air force heads.

Some of the student leaders who led the uprising against Hasina were also present at the airport to welcome him. They had earlier proposed Yunus as interim leader to the country’s figurehead president, who is currently acting as the chief executive under the constitution.

In his first comments after his arrival, he told a news briefing that his priority would be to restore order.

“Bangladesh is a family. We have to unite it,” Yunus said, flanked by the student leaders. “It has immense possibility.”

He urged all to stop violence and promised not to resort to any repressive measures against anyone.

Security was tight at the airport to ensure Yunus’ safe arrival, as the country has experienced days of unrest following the downfall of Hasina on Monday. President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath-taking ceremony last night when Yunus is expected to announce his new Cabinet.

Before leaving Paris, where he was attending the Olympics, Yunus appealed for calm in Bangladesh amid tensions over the country’s future.

Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who acts as an adviser to his mother, vowed Wednesday that his family and the Awami League party would continue to be engaged in Bangladesh’s politics — a reversal from what he’d said earlier in the week after Hasina stepped down Monday and fled to India.

Yunuswas named as interim leader following talks among military officials, civic leaders and the student activists who led the uprising against Hasina. Yunus made his first public comments in the French capital on Wednesday before boarding a plane to return home.

Yunus congratulated the student protesters, saying they had made “our second Victory Day possible,” and he appealed to them and other stakeholders to remain peaceful, while condemning the violence that followed Hasina’s resignation.

“Violence is our enemy. Please don’t create more enemies. Be calm and get ready to build the country,” Yunus said.

Bangladesh’s military chief, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman, said in a televised address on Wednesday that he expected Yunus to usher in a “beautiful democratic” process.

Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, told reporters in Paris: “I’m looking forward to going back home and seeing what’s happening there, and how we can organize ourselves to get out of the trouble that we are in.”

Asked when elections would be held, he put his hands up as if to indicate it was too early to say.

“I’ll go and talk to them. I’m just fresh in this whole area,” he said.

A tribunal in Dhaka earlier on Wednesday acquitted Yunus in a labor law violation case involving a telecommunication company he founded, in which he was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. He had been released on bail in the case.

The president had dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the path for an interim administration that is expected to schedule new elections.

Yunus has been a longtime opponent of Hasina, who had called him a “bloodsucker” allegedly for using force to extract loan repayments from rural poor, mainly women. Yunus has denied the allegations.

In a span of weeks since July 15, more than 300 people died in violence in Bangladesh. Rising tensions in the days surrounding Hasina’s resignation created chaos, with police leaving their posts after being attacked. Dozens of officers were killed, prompting police to stop working across the country. They threatened not to return unless their safety is ensured. The looting of firearms was also reported in local media.

The chaos began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favored people with connections to Hasina’s party. But the demonstrations soon grew into a broader challenge to Hasina’s 15-year rule, which was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, allegations of rigged elections and a brutal crackdown on her opponents.

Joy, Hasina’s son, said in a social media post on Wednesday that his family would return to politics and not give up following attacks on the Awami League party’s leaders and members. Many see Joy as Hasina’s successor in a dynastic political culture that dominates the South Asian nation’s politics.

On Monday, Joy had said Hasina would not return to politics after she stepped down. But in a video message posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, he urged party activists to rise up.

“You are not alone. We are here. The family of Bangabandhu has not gone anywhere,” he said.

Hasina’s father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is fondly referred to in Bangladesh as Bangabandhu, which means “friend of Bengal.”

“If we want to build a new Bangladesh, it is not possible without the Awami League,” he said.

“The Awami League is the oldest, democratic, and largest party in Bangladesh,” Joy added. “The Awami League has not died … It is not possible to eliminate the Awami League. We had said that our family would not engage in politics anymore. However, given the attacks on our leaders and activists, we cannot give up.”

Overnight into Thursday, residents across Dhaka carried sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons to guard their neighborhoods amid reports of robberies. Communities used loudspeakers in mosques to alert people that robberies were occurring, as police remained off duty. The military shared hotline numbers for people seeking help.

The quick move to select Yunus came when Hasina’s resignation created a power vacuum and left the future unclear for Bangladesh, which has a history of military rule, messy politics and myriad crises.

Many fear that Hasina’s departure could trigger even more instability in the densely populated nation of some 170 million people, which is already dealing with high unemployment, corruption and a complex strategic relationship with India, China and the United States.

Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January, in an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the U.S. and U.K. denounced the result as not credible. JULHAS ALAM, DHAKA, MDT/AP