Students who ousted Hasina are helping lead Bangladesh, from the streets to the ministries

Two students who led the charge are also settling into the interim government, ushered in just a few days after Hasina resigned and fled to India. (AP)
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Updated 14 August 2024
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Students who ousted Hasina are helping lead Bangladesh, from the streets to the ministries

  • Two students who led the charge are also settling into the interim government, ushered in just a few days after Hasina resigned and fled to India

DHAKA: Within a week of unseating Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister, the students who drove out Sheikh Hasina were directing Dhaka’s traffic.
Decked out in neon vests, their university IDs slung around their necks, they clutch sticks and umbrellas to wave cars this way and that, filling the void after police went on strike. They stopped drivers, checking their licenses and telling them off for not wearing their seatbelts. Some opened trunks of cars they deemed could belong to officials from the previous government, looking for smuggled riches.
Students have not only manned roads, two who led the charge against Hasina are settling into the interim government they ushered in just a few days after she resigned and fled to India in a military helicopter.
Before Hasina was toppled by the student movement with astonishing speed, she was seen as one of the country’s most unshakeable leaders. In total, she governed for more than 20 years, most recently winning four straight terms as her rule became ever more autocratic.
The question now is what comes next in a country still reeling from the violence surrounding her removal that left hundreds dead. The students hope they can restore peace and democracy and create a “new Bangladesh,” said Asif Mahmud, one of the protest leaders now in charge of the Sports and Youth Ministry.
“We’ve got a big responsibility,” he said. “We never thought, never had an ambition, that we would take such a responsibility at this age.”
“There is pressure, but confidence is also there,” said 26-year-old Mahmud.
The student-led protests began with a demand to abolish a quota system for government jobs they said favored Hasina’s allies but coalesced into a full-scale revolt against her and her Awami League government. Clashes with security forces, and the deaths that resulted, fueled wider outrage against Hasina’s rule, and the students have ridden a wave of popular support.
But concerns are also simmering over their lack of political experience, the extent of their ambitions and crucially, how long it will take the interim government to organize elections. Already, the student ministers along with the protesters have said that before any vote is held, they want to reform the country’s institutions — which they say have been degraded by both the Awami League and its rival, the dynastic Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Experts warn, however, that the interim government is unelected and as such it has no mandate to implement major changes.
The government, headed by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus who was chosen by the students, “must keep in mind that their main responsibility is to hold an election,” said Zillur Rahman, executive director of the Center for Governance Studies, a Dhaka-based think tank. “They shouldn’t take any policy decisions.”
Yunus, an economist and longtime Hasina critic, is known globally for his pioneering use of microcredit to help the poorest of the poor — but also has never run a government. He’s made clear that students will play a critical role in a manner never seen before: “Every ministry should have a student,” he said.
Controlling traffic for a few days is one thing but potentially appointing students into ministries could make them “power hungry” at an especially sensitive time, said Rahman.
Nahid Islam, the other student-turned-minister, acknowledged that they have no governance experience but said the grit and determination they showed in pushing out Hasina was proof that they can get things done.
“We think the students who have succeeded in leading an uprising … and the citizens are capable enough to build the nation,” said Islam, who was born in 1998 and now runs the Ministry of Information and Technology.
In the wake of Hasina’s ousting, students have mounted protests and issued ultimatums against authorities seen as close to her, demanding they quit. Six Supreme Court justices, including the chief justice, and the central bank governor all resigned in the past days.
“A modern government cannot be run on such a pattern,” said Mahfuz Anam, the editor-in-chief of The Daily Star newspaper, while adding that there have been some steps toward a stable transition process.
Many of the students who spent the past weeks protesting agree. They want the interim government to be neutral — but insist it must also be untethered to the mainstream political parties their generation has little connection to.
Alvi Mahmud, an 18-year-old student, said that if the interim government does a good job, then “people will not want BNP or Awami League or any traditional, old parties. They will want change. They will want a new way of living.”
The burning question is when new elections can be held. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a senior BNP leader, told reporters on Monday that the party told Yunus that it would give the interim government reasonable time to create a conducive and democratic environment for the polls.
This could create “a sense of calm in the political environment,” said Anam. It could also give student leaders time to politically mobilize ahead of elections.
“We are not thinking of a political platform yet,” said Islam, the new minister. “But a young generation is ready to lead this country, that generation has been built.”
For now, the country and its students are trying to come to terms with the horror of the last few weeks. More than 300 people were killed and tens of thousands injured as security forces cracked down on the demonstrations.
Students are sweeping up the streets that only recently were a battleground stained by the blood of their friends. They’re cleaning up debris at homes and university campuses destroyed in the violence. And though some police have returned to the streets after a strike, many students have remained beside them to help direct traffic.
At an intersection in the heart of the city, a statue of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — Bangladesh’s first leader after its independence in 1971 — used to tower over the constant flow of traffic. Swept up in both anger and joy after Hasina fled, protesters brought it down.
A few days ago, the site of the statue was defaced with graffiti against her, “Hasina you smell of dead bodies” was scrawled on the walls. Now, students have covered those words with murals depicting unity and their fight for change.
“We salute those who fought for our victory,” someone wrote in red and green, the colors of the Bangladesh’s flag. “We are one,” read another.


Zelensky says Ukraine’s victory ‘depends’ on United States

Updated 5 sec ago
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Zelensky says Ukraine’s victory ‘depends’ on United States

“As for the plan for victory... it depends mostly on the support of the United States. And other partners,” Zelensky said
Zelensky has said he will outline a plan to end the war by November

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine’s plan to defeat Russia depended on Washington’s support, speaking as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv.
“As for the plan for victory... it depends mostly on the support of the United States. And other partners,” Zelensky said in a press conference.
His remarks come just under two months before US elections that could be challenging for Ukraine if Donald Trump is back in the White House.
Trump aides have suggested that if he wins, he would leverage aid to force Kyiv into territorial concessions to Russia to end the war.
Zelensky has said he will outline a plan to end the war by November.
He has argued that a surprise incursion by Ukrainian troops into Russia’s Kursk region allows Kyiv to enter potential negotiations from a position of strength.
Ukraine held a peace summit in June in Switzerland with leaders and top officials from more than 90 countries but did not invite Russia.
Zelensky has since said Moscow should be included in the next gathering.
The Kremlin has ruled out talks since the assault in Kursk, and has demanded Ukraine cede swathes of territory for a ceasefire.

Philippines deadliest place for environmental defenders in Asia, rights group says

Updated 15 min 14 sec ago
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Philippines deadliest place for environmental defenders in Asia, rights group says

  • Global Witness recorded 17 killings of environmentalists in Philippines in 2023
  • Colombia was the deadliest country for environmental activists, with 79 killed

MANILA: The Philippines is the deadliest country in Asia for environment defenders, the latest Global Witness report shows, with the country recording the most environmental killings in the region for over a decade.

At least 196 environmentalists and land activists were killed globally in 2023, according to UK advocacy group’s estimates released earlier this week.

The figure brings the total number of people killed for trying to protect their homes, community or the planet to 2,106 since 2012, when Global Witness started its monitoring.

Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists and land rights defenders in 2023, the Philippines was fourth.

“Colombia had record-high defender killings in 2023 with 79 deaths: the highest annual total ever recorded by Global Witness Followed by Brazil (25), Mexico (18) and Honduras (18) and the Philippines (17),” the report read.

At the same time, the Philippines was the third — preceded only by Colombia and Brazil — in the total number of such killings since the first Global Witness report, with 298 environmental and land activists killed between 2012 and 2023.

The report also highlighted “cases of enforced disappearances and abductions, pointed tactics used in both the Philippines and Mexico in particular, as well as the wider use of criminalisation as a tactic to silence activists across the world.”

Besides the Philippines, only two other Asian countries are featured in this year’s report: India, where five activists were killed, and Indonesia, where three such killings were recorded.

Jashaf Shamir Lorenzo, environmentalists and head of research at BAN Toxics Philippines, told Arab News that environmentalists were oppressed in a number of ways.

“The most extreme cases include red-tagging, abduction, and even killings ... It seems that environmentalists who are most at risk are those who get in the way of big industries, big politicians. It doesn’t really differ much from what we see happening to journalists, human rights defenders, and activists,” he said.

“We need the government to really take action — environmental concerns have always been a big part of political platforms for decades, but major incidences of abuse point towards a lack of commitment to not only protect the environment, but to protect its stewards.”

He said impunity of the abusers has been aided by government inaction since the times of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who was in office from 2016 to 2022.

“Ever since Duterte, the government has been really lenient with these things,” he said.

“Unless the government really commits to protecting the environment, these abuses will only worsen.”


UK summons Iranian charge d’affaires over transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia

An Iranian Shahab-3 missile rises into the air after being test-fired at an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert. (AFP)
Updated 6 min 22 sec ago
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UK summons Iranian charge d’affaires over transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia

  • “UK Government was clear in that any transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia would be seen as a dangerous escalation and would face a significant response”: Ministry

LONDON: Britain’s foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires, the country’s most senior diplomat in London, over the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.
“Today, in coordination with European partners and upon instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The UK Government was clear in that any transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia would be seen as a dangerous escalation and would face a significant response.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday during a visit to London that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and would likely use them in its war in Ukraine within weeks.
On Tuesday, Britain, the US and European allies all condemned the move.
Britain sanctioned Iranian individuals and entities involved in drone and missile production, as well as Russian cargo ships it said were involved in transporting the missiles from Iran to Russia.


Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in some areas of Kursk, commander says

Updated 11 September 2024
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Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in some areas of Kursk, commander says

  • Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces fighting in Kursk, said that Russian troops had gone on the offensive and taken back control
  • “A total of about 10 settlements in the Kursk region have been liberated”

MOSCOW: Russian forces have begun a significant counter-offensive against Ukrainian troops who smashed their way into western Russia last month, and have taken some territory back, pro-Moscow war bloggers and a senior Russian commander said.
Ukraine on Aug. 6 launched the biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two, bursting through the border into the region of Kursk with thousands of troops supported by swarms of drones and heavy weaponry, including Western-made arms.
Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces fighting in Kursk, said that Russian troops had gone on the offensive and taken back control of about 10 settlements in Kursk, TASS reported.
“The situation is good for us,” said Alaudinov, who is also deputy head of the Russian defense ministry’s military-political department.
“A total of about 10 settlements in the Kursk region have been liberated,” he said.
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports due to reporting restrictions on both sides of the war. Russia’s defense ministry said it had defeated Ukrainian units at a number of villages in Kursk.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that his forces controlled 100 settlements in Kursk region over an area of more than 1,300 sq km (500 sq miles), a figure disputed by Russian sources.
Yuri Podolyaka, an Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, and two other influential bloggers — Rybar and the Two Majors — said that Russian forces had begun a significant counter-offensive in Kursk.
“In the Kursk region, the Russian Army launched counter-offensive actions on the western flank of the enemy’s wedge, reducing the Ukrainian zone of control near the state border,” the Two Majors blog said.
Podolyaka said that Russian forces had taken several villages on the west of the sliver of Russia that Ukraine carved out, pushing Ukrainian forces to the east of the Malaya Loknya River south of Snagost.
Russian forces also advanced in eastern Ukraine, and were fighting in the center of the town of Ukrainsk in the Donetsk region, according to Russian war bloggers and open source maps of the war.


Italian court ends detention for MSF migrant rescue ship

Updated 11 September 2024
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Italian court ends detention for MSF migrant rescue ship

  • A court in Salerno, the southern Italian port where the vessel had been blocked, suspended the measure, the charity wrote on X
  • “The ship is free to rescue lives!” it said

ROME: The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders — MSF) on Wednesday obtained the release of its migrant rescue ship, which had been grounded two weeks ago by Italy’s right-wing government.
MSF’s Geo Barents vessel was handed a 60-day detention order, the longest on record, for allegedly failing to properly coordinate with Italian and Libyan authorities as it picked up migrants off Libya on Aug. 23.
A court in Salerno, the southern Italian port where the vessel had been blocked, suspended the measure, the charity wrote on X.
“The ship is free to rescue lives!” it said.


The detention order was the third against the vessel, and the longest to date. MSF International President Christos Christou traveled to Salerno to support the organization’s appeal against it.
“At this exact moment the Mediterranean is a huge emergency room and Geo Barents and the doctors are sitting in a corner with their hands tied,” Christou told Reuters, accusing the government of obstructing humanitarian sea rescues.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has passed legislation to curb the activities of NGOs in the Mediterranean, including by impounding of their vessels or forcing them to travel long distances to disembark migrants, increasing their fuel costs.
Christou dismissed government charges against the MSF ship, saying it had been “waiting for instructions” as it approached a migrant boat, and spontaneously picked up its passengers after they jumped into the sea.
Meloni has defended her approach, pledging at a cabinet meeting last month to launch another crackdown — this time on migrant work permits — and saying the fall in sea arrivals under her watch also resulted in fewer migrant drownings.
“The only way to prevent further tragedies at sea is to stop departures and fight unscrupulous traffickers,” she said.
The MSF chief said Meloni’s claims overlooked the fact that many deaths at sea go unreported, and argued that migrants blocked on their way to Italy would reach Europe via other routes.
In the year to date, there have been about 44,500 sea arrivals in Italy, and around 1,100 people drowned or went missing at sea. Year-on-year, arrivals are down by 62 percent, while the dead or missing have fallen by a lesser extent — about 50 percent.
As part of its deterrence strategy, Meloni’s government is also building detention camps in Albania for migrants picked up at sea. The plan, hit by delays and criticism from human rights advocates, is expected to be operational within weeks.
Christou said MSF had “serious concerns” about the initiative, calling it “another new way of externalizing the duty of the Italians and Europeans” to assist people fleeing from poverty or conflict.