President releases Hasina's opponent, army lifts curfew, US-EU speak out, India holds emergency meeting

The World & Vietnam Newspaper updates a series of new developments as well as the international community's reactions to the security and political situation in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country.

Former Prime Minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia (left) and recently resigned Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (Source: Navbharat Times)

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has ordered the release of jailed former Prime Minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia, hours after her arch-rival, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned and left the country, Al Jazeera news channel reported on August 5.

Khaleda Zia, 78, is in poor health and hospitalized after being sentenced to 17 years in prison for bribery in 2018.

The President's press office issued a statement saying that participants in the meeting chaired by President Shahabuddin "unanimously agreed to immediately release Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) President Khaleda Zia".

The meeting also decided to release all those arrested during the student protests and "decided to form an interim government immediately," the statement said.

Bangladesh Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman, along with the heads of the navy and air force and senior leaders of several opposition parties, including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, attended the meeting.

In addition, the Bangladesh army said that from dawn on August 6, the country will lift the curfew, which was imposed on August 4 to quell protests.

In response to the new situation in the neighboring country, on the same day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), while trade activities between India and Bangladesh were "paused" on the afternoon of August 5.

These are the latest developments after Ms. Hasina, who led Bangladesh for 15 years, resigned on August 5 under pressure from student-led protests that erupted in mid-July against state job quotas.

In recent weeks, anti-government protests in Bangladesh have been brutally suppressed, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people.

At least 20 people were killed in Dhaka on August 5, following a bloody day across the country. On August 4, clashes between Hasina protesters, security forces and ruling party supporters left at least 94 people dead nationwide.

This is the highest number of casualties in a single day since anti-government protests began a month ago in this country of 170 million people.

Violent protests in Bangladesh have left more than 100 people dead in the past two days. (Source: Tageschou)

The international community expressed its views

Reuters news agency quoted a spokesman for the White House National Security Council as saying that the US is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh and calling on the country to form a democratic and inclusive interim government.

“We encourage all parties to refrain from violence and restore peace as quickly as possible,” Mr. Kirby stressed.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) called for an “orderly and peaceful” transfer of power in the South Asian country.

In a statement, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell urged calm and restraint, stressing that it was important to ensure an orderly and peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected government that fully respects human rights and democratic principles.

In Britain, according to AFP news agency, the government has called on the authorities to transition power in Bangladesh and agreed to a "United Nations-led investigation" into the unrest that forced Prime Minister Hasina to resign and leave the country.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that after "unprecedented levels of violence and tragic loss of life", all sides "now need to come together to end the violence, calm down and de-escalate the situation".

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tinh-hinh-bangladesh-tong-thong-phong-thich-doi-thu-cua-ba-hasina-quan-doi-bo-lenh-gioi-nghiem-my-eu-len-tieng-an-do-hop-khan-281477.html