Key Achievements of Interim Government in 100 Days

In its first 100 days, Bangladesh's interim government (IG) has taken critical steps towards stabilizing the country and signaling a new direction.

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has highlighted the achievements of the interim government as it completed its 100-day period on November 15.

In a recent statement posted on his verified Facebook account, Alam presented the key achievements of the interim government in its first 100 days in office.

The interim government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in on August 8 after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on August 5 amid a student-led mass upsurge.

The following are the key achievements of the interim government:

1. The law and order situation stabilized
Obaidul Quader (Awami League general secretary" once said that if Hasina is ousted from power, hundreds of thousands of people would be killed. Well, Hasina is overthrown from power. But how many people were killed? The Interim Government, the political parties, and the Bangladeshi society got their acts together and helped restore order in the first few weeks of August when police were largely missing in action. Monthly crime figures show the law and order situation has stabilized.

2. Accountability and justice for the July-August massacre
The Interim Government has invited a UN-led fact-finding mission to probe the massacres of July-August. It will be completely independent. The first report is expected early next month. The UN report will hopefully shed light on the brutalities -- maybe we will know who ordered the massacres.

Separately, the domestic ICT (International Crimes Tribunal) is investigating the murders. Hasina and her killing machines have been charged with murders. The big task will be to make the trial truly international standards so that international rights groups can't raise questions on the quality of its verdicts -- the way they did after the ICT verdicts in 2013-2016.

The Interim Government has ensured free treatment for the injured, announced 30 lakh Taka each for the families of the martyrs, and created a foundation to look after the victims and families of martyrs for the foreseeable future.

3. Major economic recovery
The economy was on the verge of collapse when the Interim Government took over. In 100 days, the foreign exchange reserve has made a comeback. Billions of dollars of international payment obligations were made without touching reserves. Exports rebounded with September shipments growing by seven percent and October shipments by more than 20 percent. The banking sector has been stabilized. The country's best economic team has been assembled to rescue a sinking boat. And it did an admirable job.

4. Reform Roadmap
Well, ten reform commissions have been constituted. The most significant ones will submit their reports by December 31. The Interim Government will hold consultations with the political parties on those reports. Once consensus is reached on the kind of reforms the country needs, the IG (interim government) will announce the date for an election. Separately, the ball for the election has been rolled out. A search committee is constituted to find the new and acceptable CEC (chief election commissioner) and ECs (election commissioners).

Once the election commission is formed, it will start work for preparing the voter list.

5. Overwhelming global support
Professor Yunus got unprecedented support from almost all countries for the IG and his reform initiatives. In New York and Baku, in two of the year's largest global summits, he was feted like a rockstar. The multilateral agencies and bilateral donors have promised to lend more than eight billion dollars. There has been a massive amount of disinformation emanating from some places. But the world knows the truth and truth has so far prevailed.

6. Zero Corruption!!
Well, have you heard any corruption stories linking the IG and its advisers and officials?

7. Efficient and peaceful management of unrest, and crises
The biggest challenge of the IG was to manage expectations. Scores of groups have hit the streets with demands and sudden bursts of anger. The IG has so far managed the protests with consultations. Rarely any force was used to suppress the protests.

The garment sector has been hit by localized unrest. Some politically linked factory owners disappeared, forcing the IG to manage the crises on a day-to-day basis. The IG has shown maximum restraint to end the unrest. A few pockets of trouble are still there. But they haven't impacted our export performance.

The IG also managed several devastating floods and a price hike of essential foods, mostly linked to natural disasters. Ansar protests were peacefully managed without any troubles. A major new Rohingya crisis was managed without anyone realizing it.

8. A new direction in foreign policy
Professor Yunus has repeatedly made calls for the revival of SAARC. He also launched an aggressive move for membership in ASEAN. He said Bangladesh wants good relations with India, but it must be based on fairness and equity.

Third-country resettlement of the Rohingyas has been fast-tracked to ease the burden on the camps.

He has called a new UN-led conference on the Rohingya crisis for a new direction on the issue.

9. A cultural reawakening
The last 100 days saw unprecedented debates in our society. From the madrasa students to urban elites, feminists to rightists everyone took part in the debates. Every day we see new seminars and talks. History is seen from different perspectives.

Ideas are shared and debated threadbare. Young stars have announced their arrival on the national stage. Old stars have struggled for relevance.