Tue Feb 11 16:15:02 UTC 2025: **Bangladesh’s Interim Government Faces Criticism Amidst Post-Coup Unrest**
DHAKA, BANGLADESH—February 11, 2025—Bangladesh is grappling with widespread unrest and a harsh security crackdown following the August ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh National Party (BNP), a powerful opposition group, has publicly condemned the interim government’s actions for the first time since the coup.
Over 1,500 people have been arrested nationwide since Saturday under “Operation Devil Hunt,” targeting alleged supporters of Hasina. Protests, including the destruction of buildings linked to Hasina’s family—culminating in the torching of a museum dedicated to her late father—have escalated tensions. These actions occurred despite the presence of law enforcement, leading BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to criticize the government’s inaction.
The unrest followed reports of Hasina’s potential live broadcast from exile in India, and clashes between her supporters and anti-Hasina protesters. The Students Against Discrimination group, instrumental in the uprising against Hasina and now represented in the interim government, has also been targeted, with members attacked in Gazipur.
Interim leader Mohammed Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has urged restraint, warning against repeating the injustices of the previous regime. He met with Alamgir to discuss the concerns. Human Rights Watch has also expressed alarm over the resurgence of abusive police practices.
The situation has further deteriorated with the attack on a book publisher, Shatabdi Bhaba, by Islamist students protesting a book by exiled author Taslima Nasrin at the Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka. Yunus condemned this incident as undermining Bangladesh’s cultural traditions. The ongoing unrest and the government’s response continue to raise serious concerns about human rights and stability in the country.
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