Celebrations after Bangladesh prime minister resigns

(5 Aug 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dhaka, Bangladesh - 5 August 2024
1. Various of people celebrating ++PARTLY OVERLAID ON SHOT 2++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sairaj Salekin, student: ++OVERLAID WITH SHOT 1++
“This is not just the end of the tyrant Sheikh Hasina, with this we put an end to the mafia state that she has created. We put an end to the corporate kleptocracy that she has put certainly. We don’t want a military government, what we need is a citizens' charter, we need a civilian government and we are going to ensure it."
3. People chanting and waving the Bangladesh flag on motorcycles
4. People celebrating ++OVERLAID ON SHOT 5++
5. SOUNDBITE (English/Bangla) Juairia Karim, student: ++OVERLAID WITH SHOT 5++
“(English) Everyone is happy, everyone is cheerful, everyone is celebrating. This has to be a historical day.”
6. Crowd of people chanting and waving the Bangladeshi flag
STORYLINE:
People in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka were celebrating on Monday after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned, ending 15 years in power as thousands of protesters defied a military curfew and stormed her official residence.

"Everyone is happy, everyone is cheerful, everyone is celebrating," said one student, Juairia Karim.

Shortly after local media showed the embattled leader boarding a military helicopter with her sister, Bangladesh’s military chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman announced plans to seek the president's guidance on forming interim government.

He promised that the military would stand down, and to launch an investigation into the deadly crackdowns that fueled outrage against the government, and asked citizens for time to restore peace.

The protests began peacefully as frustrated students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs, but the demonstrations have since morphed into an unprecedented challenge and uprising against Hasina and her ruling Awami League party.

The government attempted to quell the violence with force, leaving nearly 300 people dead and fueling further outrage and calls for Hasina to step down.

At least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in clashes in the capital on Sunday, according to the country's leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo. Hundreds more were injured in the violence.

At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks.

The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.

Over the weekend, protesters called for a “non-cooperation” effort, urging people not to pay taxes or utility bills and not to show up for work on Sunday, a working day in Bangladesh.

Offices, banks and factories opened, but commuters in Dhaka and other cities faced challenges getting to their jobs.

Hasina offered to talk with student leaders on Saturday, but a coordinator refused and announced a one-point demand for her resignation.

Hasina repeated her pledges to investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence.

She said she was ready to sit down whenever the protesters want.

Authorities shut off mobile internet on Sunday in an attempt to quell the unrest, while the broadband internet was cut off briefly Monday morning.

It was the second internet blackout in the country after the protests turned deadly in July.

On Monday, after three hours of suspension of broadband services, both broadband and mobile internet returned.






===========================================================