Before resigning as Bangladesh’s prime minister and fleeing her Dhaka residence, Sheikh Hasina wanted to address the nation, especially the protesters whose agitation forced her to step down from the top post. She could not deliver the speech as the protesters reached her doorstep and the country’s top security officials advised her to leave as soon as possible.
Big accusation against America
According to a report in the Economic Times, now 76-year-old Sheikh Hasina, who is in India, has spoken to her close aides about this incomplete speech. According to the report, Sheikh Hasina has accused the US of plotting a regime change in the country and if she had the opportunity, she would have said this in her speech.
“I resigned so that I don’t have to see the procession of bodies. They wanted to come to power on the strength of the dead bodies of students but I did not let that happen. I resigned from the post of prime minister. I could have remained in power if I had given up the sovereignty of the island of St Martin and let the US rule the Bay of Bengal. I request the people of my country to please not be misled by the fundamentalists,” her incomplete speech said.
St. Martin’s Island has an area of only 3 square kilometers and is located in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal. It is the southernmost part of Bangladesh.
The Awami League leader had to resign and flee the country due to violent protests by students. The movement started against reservation and turned into a standoff with the Sheikh Hasina government. The senior leader tried to crush the protests, killing more than 400 protesters.
Hasina gives clarification on Razakar remark
The unpublished speech said, “If I had stayed in the country, more lives would have been lost, and more resources would have been wasted. I took the extremely difficult decision to leave the country. I became your leader because you chose me, you were my strength.”
It also said she was saddened by the targeting of Awami League leaders and that she would “be back soon”. “The Awami League has stood up again and again. I will always pray for the future of Bangladesh.”
He also clarified that he never called the protesting students Razakars.
In a statement made during the protests, Sheikh Hasina had said, “If not the grandchildren of freedom fighters, who will get the quota benefits? The grandchildren of ‘Razakars’?” The term, used to refer to the paramilitary force recruited by the Pakistan Army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, sparked massive protests and the protests intensified. In her unpublished address to the nation, the Awami League leader has said, “I never called you Razakars. Rather my words were twisted to provoke you. I request you to watch the full video.”
Hasina’s relations with America are bad
Relations between the US and Bangladesh had deteriorated so much during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure that Washington DC had said that the elections held in January, which returned the Awami League to power, were not free or fair.
Months before she stepped down, Sheikh Hasina had claimed that “conspiracies” were being hatched to topple her government and alleged there was a “white man’s” plot to separate Bangladesh and Myanmar to create a new “Christian country”. “If I had allowed a particular country to build an airbase in Bangladesh, I would have no problem,” she had said in May.
After his resignation and escape, the US said, “The US has long called for respect for democratic rights in Bangladesh, and we urge that the formation of an interim government be democratic and inclusive.” Washington DC also said that the US attaches great importance to its relationship with the people of Bangladesh.
Earlier, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller condemned the violence against protesters. He said, “We condemn any violence against peaceful protesters. We are monitoring this matter very closely, both our embassy and officials in Washington are monitoring this matter. (We) are monitoring the protests, we have seen reports of people dying and being killed in the protests. And we again call on the government to uphold individual rights to protest peacefully.”
What is happening in Bangladesh?
An interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus has taken over after Sheikh Hasina’s departure. Amid reports of attacks on minorities, he has asked students leading the protests to ensure their efforts are thwarted.
“There are many people standing to thwart your efforts. Don’t fail this time,” he said, urging people to protect Hindu, Christian and Buddhist families from harm. “Are they not the people of this country? You are capable of saving the country; can’t you save a few families?…You should say – no one can harm them. They are my brothers; we have fought together, and we will remain together,” he is reported to have said.
In a major development, Bangladesh Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan and five other top judges were forced to resign on Saturday amid massive student protests demanding reforms in the judiciary.
Several other top officials, including Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Maqsud Kamal, have also resigned following the protests.
