WASHINGTON: Western countries called Monday for calm in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina fled, with Washington welcoming the military for forming an interim government rather than cracking down further on protest demonstrators.
Sheikh Hasina, who had particularly close ties with India, enjoyed a mostly cooperative relations with the West during her fifteen years in power but had also increasingly drawn criticism for her authoritarian regime.
The US called on all parties in Bangladesh to “refrain from further violence” as bullet-ridden bodies were strewn across hospitals and looting swept Dhaka.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller has told media that many lives have been lost over the course of the last several days, and they urge calm and restraint in the upcoming days. The US in recent years criticized Sheikh Hasina for autocratic tendencies and imposed visa sanctions over deep concerns on democracy.
Sheikh Hasina had sought to quell a countrywide uprising that started with student-led protest demonstrations against job quotas. About 100 people were killed on Sunday as calls grew on Sheikh Hasina to step down.
Miller said that Washington had seen reports that the military refused pressure to crack down further on student-led protest demonstrations. “If it is true in fact that the military resisted calls to crack down on legal protesters, that would be a positive development,” he added.
He said that the US welcomed the announcement of an interim government and urged any transition be conducted as per Bangladesh’s laws. Asked if the army should choose the next leadership, he said, “We want to see the people of Bangladesh decide the future their government.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called for a “peaceful, democratic and orderly transition” as well as a “full, impartial, independent, and transparent into into all acts of violence,” his spokesperson Farhan Haq stated.
Bangladesh’s former colonial power London called for the UN to take the lead in a probe. In a statement, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the people of Bangladesh have deserved an independent UN-led probe into the events of the last few weeks. Similarly, the European Union called for “calm and restraint” in Bangladesh.
However, there was no immediate reaction from regional countries to the fall of Sheikh Hasina, who had sought a delicate balancing act of enjoying support from New Delhi while maintaining strong ties with Beijing. India had issued an advisory strongly advising its citizens against traveling to Bangladesh. Indian media reported that Sheikh Hasina flew to a military air base near New Delhi.
AFP reported that a top-level source stated she wanted to transit on to the UK, but it was unclear if Sheikh Hasina would be allowed.
