Nobel laureate Yunus arrives in Bangladesh to take over as interim leader
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00Before boarding his flight back to Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus appeared optimistic about the
00:06big job ahead of him.
00:09I'm looking forward to going back home and see what's happening there and how we can
00:18organise ourselves to get out of the trouble that we're in.
00:21Early Wednesday, the Nobel Peace Laureate was officially named Chief Advisor of Bangladesh's
00:26interim government.
00:27After he was specifically requested by leaders of the protest movement that helped drive
00:32Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power.
00:36That followed a violent crackdown that left hundreds of people dead.
00:40A mass uprising initially sparked over a quota system for government jobs that grew into
00:45a broader challenge to Hasina's 15-year rule.
00:49Also on Wednesday, ex-Prime Minister and chairperson of Bangladesh's main opposition party, Khaleda
00:55Zia, was released from years of house arrest, her party promptly holding a rally to celebrate.
01:04The country has been liberated, the dictator government has fallen.
01:08We couldn't gather in the streets in the past days, we couldn't breathe.
01:11That's why I came here today, to breathe freely.
01:17I hope that whoever comes to power now exercises power and uses the police force responsibly
01:24unlike the previous oppressive government.
01:29As calm begins to return to Dhaka, with schools and garment factories reopening on Wednesday,
01:35a court overturned a conviction against Yunus, a labour charge condemned as politically motivated.
01:41Yunus has said he now wants to hold elections within a few months.