Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, has unveiled a roadmap of democratic reforms as the nation marks a year since a mass uprising toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Rallies, concerts, and prayer sessions were held in the capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday as people in the South Asian nation celebrated what many called the country’s “second liberation” after its independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The anniversary culminated with Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate presiding over Bangladesh’s democratic overhaul, announcing that he would write to the chief election commissioner requesting that national elections be arranged before Ramadan in February.
Those gathered in Dhaka included families of those killed in the crackdowns on last year’s protests. Police were on high alert throughout the city with armored vehicles patrolling the streets to deter any attempt by Hasina’s banned Awami League party to disrupt the day’s events.
Protesters also welcomed Yunus’s move to formally read out the July Declaration, a 28-point document that seeks to give constitutional recognition to the 2024 student-led uprising. He added that trials for those responsible for the July killings of 2024 were progressing swiftly.
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