Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the newly appointed leader of Bangladesh's interim government, paid a solemn tribute to the nation's fallen independence heroes on Friday, marking his first act in office.
This gesture followed a student-led uprising that drove his predecessor, Sheikh Hasina, into exile.
Just a day after returning from Europe and pledging to "uphold, support, and protect the constitution" upon his swearing-in, the 84-year-old Yunus embarked on the challenging journey of restoring democracy to the country.
Sheikh Hasina, 76, who faced allegations of human rights abuses and the imprisonment of political rivals, fled to neighboring India by helicopter on Monday as protesters surged through Dhaka's streets, ending her 15-year rule dramatically.
The military announced her resignation and then agreed to student demands that Yunus – who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work – lead an interim government.
Yunus, who has taken the title of "chief advisor" to a caretaker administration made up of civilians except for one retired brigadier general, has said he wants to hold elections "within a few months." When the polls might take place is unclear.
Officials from Hasina's former ruling party, the Awami League, have gone into hiding after revenge attacks resulted in some of their offices being torched. Former opposition groups, such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), are rebuilding after years of repression.
The new administration faces a daunting task. The veteran economist has called for the restoration of order in the South Asian nation after weeks of violence that left at least 455 people dead. He has urged citizens to protect one another, including minorities who came under attack.
In driving rain, Yunus stood silently on Friday alongside student and civil society leaders in the new "advisory" cabinet tasked with steering democratic reforms. Together, they laid a wreath in the red-and-green colors of the national flag at the main memorial commemorating the millions who died in Bangladesh's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Yunus suggested upon his arrival in Dhaka on Thursday that Hasina's ouster was as significant as the conflict that led to Bangladesh's creation. "Bangladesh has created a new victory day," he told reporters. "Bangladesh has got a second independence."
Several of Yunus' advisers are loosely affiliated with the BNP, led by Hasina's longtime rival and former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, who was recently released from years of house arrest. The group also includes student leaders who initiated the protests.
Yunus wrote in The Economist this week that his country needed a new generation of leaders "who are not obsessed with settling scores, as too many of our previous governments were."
However, Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy told the Times of India that his mother still hoped to contest political office. "She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election," he said.
Hasina's flight abroad has heightened tensions with India, which played a decisive military role in securing Bangladesh's independence but also supported Hasina.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to offer his "best wishes" to Yunus on Thursday moments after he was sworn in, saying New Delhi was "committed" to working with neighboring Dhaka. Pakistan also expressed hopes of improving ties with Dhaka, with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif wishing Yunus "great success in guiding Bangladesh toward a harmonious and prosperous future." China welcomed the interim government on Friday, promising to work with the country "to promote exchange and cooperation."
Farida Akhter, an adviser to the interim government, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the group would also visit a monument in Dhaka where the student protests began last month. "We are paying our respects there, as the student movement started from there," she said, before outlining the top priority on their to-do list.
"Our first priority is law and order," she said.
