Bangladesh’s Yunus tackles ‘law and order’ as interim govt begins work

DHAKA: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and his newly named interim government set out on Friday to restore “law and order” after a student-led uprising and deadly mass protests forced predecessor Sheikh Hasina into exile.

A day after returning home from Europe and vowing to “uphold, support and protect the constitution” as he was sworn into office, 84-year-old Yunus began the tough challenge of returning the country to democracy.

“The number one challenge is the law and order,” Touhid Hossain, who has taken over the foreign ministry portfolio, told reporters. “If it is ensured, the rest will be fine.”

Yunus, who has taken the title of “chief adviser” to the caretaker administration, comprised of fellow civilians bar one retired brigadier-general, has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.

When polls might take place is not clear.

Officials of Hasina´s former ruling party, the Awami League, have gone into hiding after revenge attacks saw some of their offices torched, while former opposition groups such as the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are rebuilding after years of crushing repression.

Several of Yunus´ advisers are loosely affiliated with the BNP, led by Hasina´s longtime rival and former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, newly released after years of house arrest.

Yunus wrote in The Economist this week that his country needed a new generation of leaders “who are not obsessed with settling scores, as too many of our previous governments were”.

For Syeda Rizwana Hasan, a top environmental activist and lawyer appointed to oversee climate change affairs, the transition offers a chance to change the country´s political course.

“My plan is to lay the foundation to put Bangladesh on a truly liberal democratic path,” she said.

That desire for change was echoed by former student leader Nahid Islam, now information adviser in the cabinet.

“This government has been made through a mass uprising, and people have that trust,” 26-year-old Islam said.

“Our goal is to reconstruct the Bangladesh that we dreamt in the fastest possible time.”