Turbulence in Bangladesh as new government grapples with aftermath of Sheikh Hasina’s ouster

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s new government is struggling to deal with a host of issues, including a stumbling economy and human rights violations, left behind by the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina six months ago. Hasina fled to India in August after a student-led uprising ended her 15-year rule, and an interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus took the helm, backed by the influential military.

Hasina’s Awami League recently announced plans for protests in February, including a general strike. This infuriated student activists and anti-Hasina groups, who on Wednesday stormed and demolished the historic home of her father, Bangladesh’s independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Hasina, whose 15-year regime is blamed for widespread corruption and human rights violations, is expected to address her supporters from exile on Thursday.

Here’s what to know about Bangladesh six months after its former leader was removed from power.

Will Sheikh Hasina make a comeback?

Hasina faces criminal charges over the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the uprising in July and August last year. In speeches posted online from exile and in leaked recordings of telephone conversations, she has said she will come back.

The Yunus-led interim government has sought her extradition from India, but New Delhi has not responded. A special tribunal dealing with charges of crimes against humanity has asked Interpol to arrest Hasina.

Her family members are staying out of Bangladesh, along with many party leaders and former ministers. Others are either in prison or hiding.

The interim government has arrested thousands of Hasina’s supporters and has banned the student wing of her party, the Bangladesh Chhatra League. In late January, New York-based Human Rights Watch cited “a disturbing pattern of security force abuses” that reemerged after Hasina’s ouster, this time targeting supporters of her party, including journalists.

Uncertainty surrounds the reforms pledged by the Yunus government

The interim government established six commissions to reform sectors including the electoral system, the rule of law and public administration. The government is now scrutinizing their reports submitted recently to share with public in coming weeks.

But major political players like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia have called for an initial set of reforms, followed by an urgent election. The BNP says long-term reforms should be carried out under an elected government.

Concern over human rights

Human Rights Watch urged the interim government to establish legal detention practices and repeal laws used to target critics. The Yunus-led government scrapped the abusive Cyber Security Act, used to crush freedom of speech, but replaced it with an ordinance that contains many of the same harmful provisions, HRW said.

An association of editors and rights groups has accused the new government of systematically suppressing independent media, but the authorities say there has been no intimidation. Two media freedom groups, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, have urged the government to ensure fair trials and uphold procedural rights for journalists.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has accused the interim government of failing to protect religious and ethnic minorities from attacks and harassment. The government denies the allegation, saying most of the killings and other attacks were for “political reasons” and not related to any communal violence.

Islamists on the rise

Since the fall of Hasina, Islamist groups have become increasingly visible. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, political analyst and chairman of the Dhaka-based National Election Monitoring Council, says hardline religious groups and Islamist political parties could take further “advantage” of the anarchic situation in the country.

Around 700 prison inmates were still on the run after mass jailbreaks during the student-led uprising, including at least 70 who were either Islamic radicals or death row convicts, a top prison official said in December.

When is the next election?

Hasina’s main rival— the Bangladesh Nationalist Party — has asked the government to hold an election this year, otherwise it will hold street protests.

The student group that spearheaded the anti-Hasina uprising and an Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, have both said they want to give the government enough time for vital reforms before an election.

Yunus has pledged to hold an election either in December or by June next year.