Nobel laureate Yunus returns to Bangladesh to take over as interim leader

Bangladesh’s next leader, Muhammad Yunus, returned from an overseas trip on Thursday, and will take office later in the day, as he seeks to restore calm and rebuild the country following an uprising that ended the 15-year, increasingly autocratic rule of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

He landed at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and was welcomed by the country’s military chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who was flanked by navy and air force officials.

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

Security was tight at the airport to ensure his safe arrival, as the country has experienced days of unrest following the downfall of Ms Hasina on Monday.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath-taking ceremony on Thursday night when Mr Yunus is expected to announce his new Cabinet.

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

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

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

He 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 Ms Hasina’s resignation.

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

General Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a televised address on Wednesday that he expected Mr Yunus to usher in a “beautiful democratic” process.

Mr 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 organise ourselves to get out of the trouble that we are in.″

Asked when elections will be held, he put his hands up as if to indicate it is 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 Mr Yunus in a labour law violation case involving a telecommunications 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.

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

In the few weeks since July 15, more than 300 people died in violence in Bangladesh.

Rising tensions in the days surrounding Ms 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 favoured people with connections to Ms Hasina’s party. But the demonstrations soon grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule, which was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, allegations of rigged elections and a brutal crackdown on her opponents.

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

On Monday, he had said his mother 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.

Ms 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,” he 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 neighbourhoods 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 Mr Yunus came when Ms 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 Ms 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.

Ms 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 US and UK denounced the result as not credible.