Bangladesh’s Interim Government Bans Former Ruling Party

The interim government in Bangladesh banned the Awami League party, headed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted last year after 15 years in power in a student-led uprising, the Associated Press reported. 

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, said it was halting all activities by the party under the Anti-Terrorism Act. 

The move follows street protests attended over the weekend by thousands – including the supporters of a newly formed student-led political party – in the capital, Dhaka, where demonstrators demanded a ban on the party, wrote the Guardian. 

The ban is to remain in place until a special tribunal finishes trying Awami party leaders on charges of murder in the deaths of hundreds of students and protesters during the anti-government demonstrations that took place last summer. 

Those protests became a mass uprising that led to Hasina fleeing the country in August, and she remains in exile.  

Thousands may have been killed in the crackdown by the government that followed the demonstrations, according to a February report by the United Nations. 

Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, was already banned in October after being labelled a “terrorist organization” due to its involvement in violence against protesters during the uprising. 

The Awami League called the ban illegal on its Facebook page. 

The interim government has pledged to reform the country’s political institutions and said elections could be delayed until 2026.