Nobel Laureate Prof Dr Mohammad Yunus today called upon all to save the country from chaos and violence.
If you have faith in me and trust me, then ensure that there will be no attack anywhere in the country. This is our first responsibility,” he said a crowded press briefing at the VIP lounge of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon his arrival this afternoon.
“What I would like to stress first is to save the country from chaos. Save the country from violence so that we can move forward on the path that the students have shown us.
“Bangladesh could be a beautiful country. It has tremendous potential, which has been destroyed. Now we will have to prepare the seedbed, and we have to rise again. You, the youth, will prepare the seedbed. We will look up to them and move forward as per their direction,” Prof Yunus said.
Yunus commended the youth for their campaign and expressed his gratitude for what he said was Bangladesh’s second “Victory Day”.
Set to be the head of the interim government, the Nobel laureate spoke soon after landing in Dhaka talked to the student leaders of the anti-quota campaign and members of the civil society that included some of the people who may form the interim government.
Yunus said, “The benefits of this freedom, however, must reach every home of Bangladesh.”
Without that, achieving this a second time would be meaningless.
Yunus paid tribute to Abu Sayed, the student who was among the first killed in police firing during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
“I am remembering Abu Sayed,” said Yunus, pausing to hold back tears. “His image is etched in every heart. The courage he showed in standing, arms outstretched in front of police firing … no one was afraid after that.”
Yunus is set to take charge of the interim government tonight, three days after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.
