Dacca, Aug. 6, 2024 – Student leaders of protests in Bangladesh that led to the resignation of long-time premier Sheikh Hasina have said they do not want an army-led interim government but instead one advised by Nobel Peace Leaurate Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus’ office confirmed Tuesday that he has agreed to be an advisor for an interim government.
This comes as the student leaders are due to meet on Tuesday with Bangladesh’s Army Chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who announced the previous day that an interim government would be formed, without giving details about who would lead it.
Yunus, who is reportedly in Paris, won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for his work in granting mini-loans to impoverished Bangladeshis from his Grameen Bank, often enabling them to pull themselves out of poverty by building small businesses.
The 84-year-old was, however, indicted by a Bangladeshi court in June on embezzlement charges that he has denied.
“Any government other than the one we recommended would not be accepted,” Nahid Islam, one of the key organizers of the student movement, said in a video on Facebook with three other organizers. “We wouldn’t accept any army-supported or army-led government.”
“We have also had discussions with Muhammad Yunus and he has agreed to take on this responsibility at our invitation,” Islam added.
In an interview with India’s The Print, he said Bangladesh had been “an occupied country” under Hasina.
“Today, all the people of Bangladesh feel liberated,” Yunus said, it reported. (Reuters)
