Anti-government Protests: Bangladesh’s prime minister resigns, flees country [Updated]

PEOPLE’S GAZETTE

Following days of deadly anti-government protests over calls for an end to a quota system for government jobs, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has bowed to pressure and resigned from her position, the military said in a statement on Monday.

In a broadcast on state television, Bangladesh’s army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, said Ms Hasina has resigned as the country’s prime minister, saying that “we will form an interim government,” ending Ms Hasina’s stay in power after 15 years.

Renewed anti-government protesters, mostly students, have taken over cities in the South Asian country, calling for restructuring of employment quotas, but the protests have since turned violent, resulting in the deaths of over 100 people as of Sunday as security forces crackdown on demonstrators.

To quell the unrest, the government cut mobile internet access in the country as Facebook and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, became inaccessible. The junior minister for information and broadcasting, Mohammad Ali Arafat, said the services were severed to help prevent violence.

Angered by the impunity shown by the government, the protesters began to call for the resignation of Ms Hasina. 

THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN PEOPLE’S GAZETTE