Bangladesh’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus said on Sunday that the interim government will seek the extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after the fall of her government following a massive protest movement in August.
In an address to the nation on the completion of 100 days of the interim government, Yunus also said that his government is continuing all its efforts to ensure the security of all citizens, including religious minorities.
“We must ensure justice in every killing… We will also ask India to send back late dictator Sheikh Hasina,” Yunus was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency.
His comments signal a U-turn as Yunus, in an interview with the UK-based Financial Times newspaper last month, had said that his government would not immediately seek Hasina’s extradition from India.
Yunus, who took office on August 8, claimed that around 1,500 people, including students and workers, were killed while 19,931 others were injured during protests against Hasina’s government.
“Our government is very alert to collect information on every death,” he said, adding that the government has made arrangements to treat the injured in various specialized hospitals, including 13 hospitals in Dhaka.
Hasina, 77, resigned and fled to India after massive protests by students and others against her government over the controversial quota system in government jobs.
She landed at Hindon airbase near Delhi on 5 August. He is believed to have later been transferred to an unspecified location and has not been seen in public since.
Hasina and her party leaders are accused of ordering a brutal repression of the anti-discrimination student movement, resulting in numerous casualties during the July–August protests.
Yunus said his government was investigating every incident of some cases where religious minorities were victims of violence.
In his address to the nation, he said, “We have tried our best to ensure that no citizen of the country, not just a member of the Hindu community, becomes a victim of violence. We will continue these efforts.”
He said that when the interim government took power, Bangladesh was a completely unsafe country.
Yunus said that an attempt was made to spread unnecessary fear among religious minorities.
He said, “In some cases, they have also been victims of violence. But all the publicity about it was completely exaggerated. The small cases of violence that did occur were mainly political.”
But a malicious attempt was made to destabilize the country again by giving a religious color to these incidents, he said, adding that the government dealt with the situation firmly with the cooperation of all.
He said that two months after his government took charge, Durga Puja was celebrated in about 32,000 puja pavilions across the country.
He said the government made extensive security preparations during Durga Puja so that members of the Hindu community could celebrate the festival smoothly.
Hindus constitute only 8 percent of Bangladesh’s 170 million population. During and since the protests, members of the minority Hindu community have faced regular vandalism to their businesses and destruction of temples, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina.
Yunus also said that the Election Commission (EC) would be constituted soon, while an electoral roadmap would be announced after competitive reforms in the electoral system.
“Once the electoral reforms are decided, you will soon get the election roadmap,” he said.
Noting that there is a question in everyone’s mind as to when the elections will be held, Yunus said that the government has started taking necessary steps to conduct the elections.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
