Bangladesh Crisis Goes Out Of Control: 24 Burned Alive In Hotel Fire, Hindu Temples Targeted
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and economist, was chosen to lead the interim government in Bangladesh on Tuesday night, following the resignation and flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising.
At least 24 people, including an Indonesian national, were burned alive by a mob at a starred hotel owned by an Awami League party leader. This tragic event occurred at Zabir International Hotel, owned by Shahin Chakladar, the district Awami League general secretary in Jessore district, as reported by Hindustan Times.
BNP leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, after her release from jail, expressed concerns over the nationwide violence, vandalism, and looting of state resources amid the student uprising, as reported by Dhaka Tribune.
Reports claimed that the victims, mostly boarders, were burned alive late on Monday night when the mob set the hotel on fire. India had reportedly warned Sheikh Hasina about General Waker-us-Zaman.
Meanwhile, a Hindu association in Bangladesh claimed that hundreds of Hindu houses, businesses, and temples were vandalized following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina. Hindus, who constitute about 8 percent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people, have historically supported Hasina’s Awami League party, which identifies as largely secular, instead of the opposition bloc that includes a hardline Islamist party.
Sheikh Hasina’s plan to travel to London faced uncertainties, making it unlikely for her to move out of India for the next couple of days. She was shifted to an unspecified location under tight security after landing at Hindon airbase on Monday in a C-130J military transport aircraft, asreported by Hindustan Times.
Muhammad Yunus was appointed to lead Bangladesh’s interim government by President Mohammed Shahabuddin after he held meetings with student leaders and chiefs of the three military services. Yunus, 84, and his Grameen Bank, a microcredit organization, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting small loans to the rural poor of Bangladesh. Student leaders had expressed their desire for Yunus to serve as the chief adviser to the interim government, and a spokesperson for Yunus confirmed his agreement. Yunus is currently in Paris for a medical procedure and is expected to return to Dhaka soon.
In the disturbing incident at Zabir International Hotel, doctors at Jessore General Hospital confirmed the count of 24 bodies, while surviving hotel staff feared more bodies could be found inside the debris. Media reports suggested that an unidentified mob, opposed to the Awami League regime, set the ground floor of the hotel on fire, which quickly spread to the upper floors, as per media reports.
Similar reports came from across the country, where angry mobs simultaneously vandalized residences and business establishments of many Awami League leaders and activists, including its central office in Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. Khaleda Zia stated during a meeting with Maulana Mamunul Haque, secretary general of Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, that “Our state’s resources are being wasted. This country is ours; we have to build this country.”
India, now sheltering Sheikh Hasina after she fled from deadly protests following 15 years in power, expressed concerns over attacks on minorities, their businesses, and temples at multiple locations. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) reported that 200-300 mainly Hindu homes and businesses had been vandalized since Monday, and 15-20 Hindu temples damaged, as per media reports. Up to 40 people were injured, though not seriously, according to the Council’s general secretary, Rana Dasgupta.
Source » oneindia.com
