As hundreds of protesters turned around in the central part of the Bangladesh capital, shouting grew louder, marched and called for an end to rise sharply in gang activities and violent crime.
It was the second rally in a few weeks, with young people flocking to the streets of Dhaka to express their dissatisfaction.
“I began protesting the country’s rampant rape case,” the rally last weekend said.
Outside the Bangladesh Provisional Government Office, the government was formed after a bloody student-led revolution overthrew former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ended her 15-year dictatorship, and another protest.
This time, a group of people injured during a widespread protest in July last year, with security forces facing a brutal crackdown before protesters finally succeeded in forcing Hasina to flee in a helicopter to neighboring India.
Rickshaw driver Muhammad Yaqub Ali said: “I need help to properly treat my bullet injury.
Each protest has a clear message, led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the government is the Nobel Prize winner who is the Nobel Prize winner to promote microcredit to help the poor. He returned to Dhaka to lead the transition in Bangladesh after protests last summer, fulfilling the demands of leading students driven by change.
His country suffered weeks of unrest, killing more than 1,400 people after police shot the crowd to kill the turmoil.
According to the United Nations, violent crackdowns that have long been accused of being subjected to corruption and systematic suppression of dissent could constitute crimes against humanity. In a report released in February, UN investigators found that as many as 13% of the killings were children.
Seven months later, the initial joy and relief of Yunus’ appointment gradually faded. His government is working to address protests that cannot be protested, and the lower security situation has concern many in Bangladesh as the pace of change is slow.
“Sorry our country”
“I feel sorry for our state,” said Mahfuj Alam, one of the leaders of the student protest movement, who was later recruited as part of the interim government, which was consulted by Yunus.
He said some police refusal to show up for work, resulting in more crime and gang activity “infuriating people.”
Alam told CBC News that Bangladesh’s expectations for rapid change are a violation of a bureaucracy that is deeply rooted in such a way that real reforms are nearly impossible.
“Everyone is thinking that the Provisional Government will be done within a year. So why should we follow their orders?” said the 27-year-old, who described the discomfort he saw from the country’s political parties, bureaucrats and police.
“It’s the reality. It’s the reality of the police, bureaucracy and the company,” he said.
“This makes us, the provisional government, weak.”
Yunus promised to restore law and order as his government picked up pieces after the losses caused by Hasina’s rule.
He allegedly visited the secret prisons of political opponents of the former regime and established a Human Rights Commission for further investigation.
Senior police officers have also been arrested for murdering extrajudicial killings, and Hasina faces hundreds of charges, including murder, crimes against humanity and kidnapping. She denied the charges.
Tensional ties with India
Despite this, Yunus remains firmly convinced that the former prime minister will face justice, and the ties between the two countries are tense even though Hasina hides in India.
India has not responded to two warrants and formal requests for extradition from Dhaka.
“The issue of the trial is not that if. It will happen in absence or her presence,” Yunus told Sky News. “Not only her, but everyone associated with her: her family, her clan, her colleagues and all the oligarchs.”
He has said the country will hold elections between December this year and March 2026, but the top priority is to ensure reforms are made to ensure voting is free and fair.
The continued instability under the interim government has also affected Bangladesh’s fragile economy, another key issue in double-digit inflation.
On a recent morning, a government truck sold oil, rice and grain at subsidized prices on the side of the road in Dhaka, almost overspent, dozens of people lined up and scrambled to pick up discounted food.
A woman, Khadija, told CBC News that she had been waiting for four hours, but because her 16-month-old baby was in her arms, she had to give up her position without cheaper rations, which was as high as 60% on the regular market.
Yunus also has to compete with Bangladesh Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman, who frankly said in his speech on February 25 that he had “enough” for the politics and turmoil of division. He said Bangladesh is in a state of “making” “anarchy”.
He said in Bengali, “I am warning you.” If the turmoil continues, “the independence and sovereignty of this country will be at risk”.
The general also urged Yunus to keep his promise to hold elections by the end of this year.
“What do people really want”
The students who deposed Hasina have now formed a party and vowed to shake the country’s political landscape, which is usually tilted between two parties, both of which Hasina’s Awami Alliance and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party are led by family dynasties.
“We are working on a proper democratic transformation,” said Hasnat Abdullah, 26.
“People will be the most important priority we really want.”
His colleague, Samanta Shermeen, 33, is a student-led Jatiya Nagorik or a new spokesperson for the National Civic Party.
She told CBC News, adding that their party is more like a group that can be changed.
Its leader, Nahid Islam, left a post office in the interim government to help launch the party, said he felt it was impossible to hold a free and impartial national election in light of the current security challenges.
Adapt to new reality
This is not the most popular news for many who have suffered and saddened to lose loved ones during the July protests.
The Rahman family is still adapting to their new reality after Mugdho, the youngest of three boys, was shot dead by police last July.
His brothers have been struggling to collect evidence and CCTV footage from their younger brother’s last few minutes when he was seen distributing water and cookies to protesters.
“I’m still learning how to live without him.”
“Mugdho is not only my twin brother, he is my best friend. We have shared everything.”
The brothers spent a lot of time trying to coordinate compensation from the victim’s family, which gave them a sense of purpose.
Big brother Mir Mahmuder Rahman said: “We are working to realize his unfinished dream and help the people of Bangladesh “make this country a beautiful dream.” ”
Snigdho Rahman told CBC News that he could only hope for the death of his brother, and among hundreds of other victims, his death was not in vain.
“It gave me the momentum now, and it’s time to change, reform everything and bring a bright future to our country,” he said.
“Our future cannot give their lives like we do. Just like Mugdo.”
After a month of violent unrest, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country. Andrew Chang explains how the student-led protests on government posts turned into a huge and deadly movement that eventually led the government to overthrow the government.
