BANGLADESHI EX-PM, HASINA DEMANDS PROBE INTO PROTESTS THAT LED TO HER OUSTER
Bangladeshi ex-premier, Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday demanded an investigation into the protests that ousted her, in her first public statement since her abrupt resignation and flight abroad last week.
āI demand that those involved in these killings and acts of vandalism be properly investigated and the culprits be identified and punished,ā she said in a written statement given to journalists through her US-based son.
Meanwhile, a court in Bangladesh opened a murder investigation into Hasina and six top figures in her administration Tuesday over the police killing of a man during civil unrest last month.
Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to neighboring India a week ago, where she remains, as protesters flooded Dhakaās streets in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted tenure.
More than 450 people were killed during the weeks of unrest leading up to her toppling.
āA case has been filed against Sheikh Hasina and six more,ā said Mamun Mia, a lawyer who brought the case on behalf of a private citizen.
He added that the Dhaka Metropolitan Court had ordered police to accept āthe murder case against the accused persons,”Ā the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.
Miaās filing with the court also named Hasinaās former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasinaās Awami League party.
It also names four top police officers appointed by Hasinaās government who have since vacated their posts.
The case accuses seven people of responsibility for the death of a grocery store owner who was shot dead on July 19 by police violently suppressing protests.
The Daily Star newspaper reported that the case was brought on behalf of Amir Hamza Shatil, a resident of the neighbourhood where the shooting happened and a āwell-wisherā of the victim.
– āWe donāt deny thisā –
Hasinaās government was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned from Europe three days after Hasinaās ouster to head a temporary administration facing the monumental challenge of steering democratic reforms.
The 84-year-old won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, and is credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis out of grinding poverty.
He took office as āchief adviserā to a caretaker administration ā all fellow civilians bar home minister Sakhawat Hossain, a retired brigadier general ā and has said he wants to hold elections āwithin a few months.ā
Hossain said on Monday that the government had no intention of banning Hasinaās Awami League, which played a pivotal role in the countryās independence movement.
āThe party has made many contributions to Bangladesh; we donāt deny this,ā he told reporters on Monday.
āWhen the election comes, (they should) contest the elections.ā
AFP has contacted the caretaker administration for comment.
ā āTemporary crisisā ā
The new administration has stressed that it wants to put Bangladesh on a different path.
Its foreign minister, Touhid Hossain, told a briefing of more than 60 foreign diplomats late Monday it was āvery serious about human rightsā, and vowed not to āallow any violence or damages to occurā, he said.
āAll those committing such crimes will be investigated,ā Hossain added.
The unrest and political change have also shaken Bangladeshās critical garment industry, but he assured diplomats that foreign investments would be protected.
Bangladeshās 3,500 garment factories account for around 85 percent of its $55 billion in annual exports, supplying many of the worldās top brands as the worldās second biggest exporter of clothing by value after China.
āThis is a temporary crisis,ā Hossain added. āEverything will come back in the right way, as competent people are in charge.ā
AFP