Nobel winner Dr Muhammad Yunus has said that he is ready to head an interim government in Bangladesh after mass demonstrations forced longtime ruler and prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to flee the country.
"I am honoured by the trust of the protesters who wish for me to lead the interim government," he said in a written statement to AFP.
"If action is needed in Bangladesh, for my country and for the courage of my people, then I will take it," he said, also calling for "free elections."
Nahid Islam, one of the conveners of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, announced Yunus’s name as their preferred candidate to take leadership of the interim government early on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday afternoon, Yunus Centre Executive Director Lamia Morshed said, “Yes, I can confirm it. Sir has agreed to the students’ proposal.”
Sheikh Hasina resigned her premiership and quit the country on Monday in the face of a student-led anti-government movement that began as a call to reform the quota system for government jobs. There has been unrest since then, with no law enforcers or civil administration officials available in many areas.
