'Violence Is Our Enemy': Muhammad Yunus Urges People To Stay Calm, Lauds Students For 'Second Victory Day'

Muhammad Yunus appealed to the students and political parties to refrain from violence saying if people take the path of violence everything will be destroyed.

Muhammad Yunus, who has been appointed as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh, on Wednesday congratulated the students for making the "Second Victory Day" possible and urged the people to stay calm and refrain from violence.

Yunus, whose name was first proposed for the top job by the coordinators of the  Students Against Discrimination movement, appealed to the students and political parties to refrain from violence saying if people take the path of violence everything will be destroyed. 

"I congratulate the brave students who took the lead in making our Second Victory Day possible and to the people for giving your total support to them. Let us make the best use of our new victory.  Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes. I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence," Muhammad Yunus said in a statement. 

"I appeal to all students, members of all political parties and non-political people to stay calm. This is our beautiful country with lots of exciting possibilities. We must protect and make it a wonderful country for us and for our future generations," he added. 

Calling violence an enemy, he said that the youths are ready to give this leadership create a new world. "Let us not miss the chance by going into any senseless violence. Violence is our enemy," he said. 

The statement comes after Yunus was appointed as head of the interim government after the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the country's presidency announced early Wednesday. 

The appeal comes as the Army chief acknowledged that there were incidents of looting and anarchy after Hasina's ouster. He said that the police forces became totally dysfunctional” and it was not possible on the part of the military along with the navy and air force troops to fill up the void.

The decision "to form an interim government with Yunus as its chief" was taken at a meeting of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, military leaders and the heads of the Students Against Discrimination group, a statement from President Shahabuddin's office said. 

Army chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that the interim government will take oath on Thursday at around 8 pm. He said the advisory council may have 15 members. General Zaman added that armed forces will provide all possible support to Yunus.