There are various talks about how long the term of the interim government will be. Some say that elections should be held quickly. Some say that elections should be held only after completing reforms. But the people don’t want to go back to the old situation, they want change.
In an interview given to the American media NPR, the chief adviser of the interim government. Yunus said this. Dr. on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York last week. Yunus gave that interview. NPR aired the interview on Monday.
Dr. about organizing the election. Asked about Yunus, military leaders say the interim government should remain in power for 18 months. And the opposition parties wanted elections in November. Is 18 months enough time for what you need to do?
Dr. in response. Yunus said, ‘Some say, to reform as soon as possible, otherwise you (Dr. Yunus) will become unpopular the longer you delay; Everything will be messed up. Others say, no, you must complete this reform. So you have to stay this long. Because we don’t want to go to Bangladesh 2.0 without reforming everything. So this debate is going on.’
“We don’t want to go back to the old ways,” said the chief adviser. So what is the meaning of giving so much life! It doesn’t make any sense….so we have to start building a new (country).’ He also said that this nation has got the biggest opportunity. Never before have people been so united on one issue that we need change.’
In response to a question about attacks on minority Ahmadiyya and Hindu communities, attacks on shrines and death by mob justice. Yunus said, people were in the mood of revolution. A revolutionary situation prevailed. Many were killed. They were looking for those who had killed their comrades. For this they attacked the supporters of the party led by Sheikh Hasina. ‘When you are talking about minorities,’ said the chief adviser. These minorities, especially the Hindu community, are associated with her (Sheikh Hasina) party. So you cannot distinguish whether they are attacked because they are followers of Sheikh Hasina or because they are Hindus. But it is certain that they are infected. But whenever we take charge of government, try to restore peace. Everyone keeps saying, we can have different opinions. But that doesn’t mean we have to attack each other.’
Asked whether people can be moved from the mindset of revenge to reform, the chief adviser said, the incident of revenge may have been only for a couple of weeks. After that, the situation started to return to normal. But there is a protest, not a retaliatory protest. Most of the protests are demanding wage hikes, jobs for those who lost their jobs under the previous government. They say that they were mistreated during the previous government, they lost their jobs not because of anything else but because of other political parties. As a result, everyone is trying to fulfill their demands. Because they are deprived. Dr. Yunus said, ‘We are trying to reassure them. Look, we cannot solve your 15 years of misery in 15 days. Please allow us some time to resolve the matter. You’ve been through tough times. We have to systematically address it.’
