Bangladesh awaits interim government, army chief to meet protesters

DHAKA — Bangladesh's army chief will meet student protest leaders on Tuesday (Aug 6) as the country awaits the formation of a new government a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following a violent uprising against her rule.

Student leaders, who spearheaded a movement against job quotas that turned into a call for Hasina to resign, said early on Tuesday that they want a new interim government with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus as its chief adviser.

"Any government other than the one we recommended would not be accepted," Nahid Islam, one the key organisers of the students movement, said in a video on Facebook with three other organisers. "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.

Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman plans to meet the protest organisers at 12 pm local time (0600 GMT) on Tuesday, the army said in a statement, a day after Zaman announced Hasina's resignation in a televised address and said an interim government would be formed.

Yunus, 84, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under US$100 (S$132) to the rural poor of Bangladesh but he was indicted by a court in June on charges of embezzlement that he denied.

Yunus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hasina, 76, landed at a military airfield, Hindon, near Delhi on Monday after leaving Dhaka, two Indian government officials told Reuters, adding that India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met her there. They did not elaborate on her stay or plans.

[[nid:696301