Dhaka: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was appointed chief adviser to Bangladesh's interim government on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned following a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising.
Yunus was appointed to the post by Bangladesh President Mohammad Shahbuddin after he met with student leaders and the heads of the three military services, local media reported late on Tuesday, citing a statement from the president's office and officials.
Yunus, 84, and his Grameen Bank, a microcredit organization, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their work lifting millions out of poverty by providing small loans of less than $100 to the rural poor in Bangladesh.
The student leaders said they wanted Yunus to be the chief adviser to the interim government, and Yunus's spokesman said he agreed. Yunus is in Paris for treatment and is expected to return to Dhaka soon.
There was no immediate response from him in response to the appointment. It has not been decided when the interim government will take over.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shahabuddin had dissolved the parliament and opened the way for an interim government and new elections.
His office also announced the release from detention of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, who feuded for decades with Hasina, the leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
The student protestors have warned of more protests if the parliament is not dissolved.
Shahabuddin had already said that elections will be held after the interim government takes over. Nahid Islam, chief coordinator of the campaign against Hasina, said in a video message, “No government will be accepted except what we recommend.”
The movement to oust Hasina arose out of protests against public sector job quotas for families of veterans of Bangladesh's 1971 independence war, which critics saw as a means of reserving jobs for allies of the ruling party.
Around 300 people have died and thousands have been injured in the violence that has raged in the country since last July.
After protesters attacked and looted the prime minister's grand residence on Monday, the streets of the capital Dhaka were quiet again on Tuesday, with traffic lighter than normal and many schools and businesses closed during the unrest still closed.
Garment factories that supply clothes to some of the world's top brands and are a mainstay of the economy will reopen on Wednesday after being shut down due to disruptions, the Association of Major Garment Manufacturers said.
Hasina's flight ends her second term of 15 years in the country of 170 million people, which she has ruled for 20 of the past 30 years under the leadership of a political movement inherited from her father, state founder Mujibur Rahman. Murdered in 1975.
Since the early 1990s, Hasina has been at odds with her rival, Zia, who inherited her own political movement from her husband Ziaur Rahman, a ruler himself assassinated in 1981.
Second Liberation Day
Yunus, who was indicted by a court in June on corruption charges which he denies, told Indian broadcaster Times Now that Monday was marked as the “second liberation day” for Bangladesh after its 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
But he said the Bangladeshis were angry with neighboring India for allowing Hasina to escape from Dhaka and land there.
“India is our best friend… People are angry with India because you are supporting someone who is ruining our lives,” Yunus said.
The protests against Hasina were fueled by poverty. As the textile industry expanded after years of strong economic growth, the $450 billion economy struggled with expensive imports and inflation, and the government sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Hasina was accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian and many of her political enemies were jailed. His resignation was greeted by a jubilant mob, which stormed the grand grounds of his residence unopposed and took away furniture and TVs after he fled on Monday.
Hasina has flown to India and is staying in a safe house outside Delhi. Indian media reported that Hasina may travel to Britain, where she has family, including a niece who is a government minister.
Reuters could not confirm his plans. The UK Home Office declined to comment.
Student leaders have received reports of attacks on minority groups, including Hindu temples, in the Muslim-majority country and have called for restraint.
Hundreds of Hindu homes, businesses and temples have been vandalized since Hasina's removal, a community association said on Tuesday. India has expressed concern over the incident.
Reuters could not verify the scale of the reported incidents and police officials did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Hindus make up about eight percent of Bangladesh's 170 million people and have historically supported Hasina's Awami League party, which is seen as largely secular, rather than an opposition bloc that includes a radical Islamist party.
