I am determined to go back to Bangladesh, says Sheikh Hasina
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, August 5 declared that she is determined to return home in December, pledging to face the risk of arrest or a death sentence, in order to "restore democracy and justice" to the country.
Hasina said this at a virtual press conference in her first public media interaction since fleeing to India on August 5, 2024.
"My return is not about power, it's about putting Bangladesh back on track of development, secularism and prosperity," she said.
"I know, they may put me in jail or kill me," she said, adding, "I will go back home to be with my people."
Hasina, 78, has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka.
"I have decided to go and I will go to Bangladesh," she asserted.
Last November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged "crimes against humanity" over her government's brutal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.
Since that verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law.
The former Bangladesh Prime Minister also hailed India for always standing by Bangladesh.
"India has always been a great friend of Bangladesh," she said.
Hasina said the situation in Bangladesh is very disturbing.
"Fear has entered homes, work places and educational campuses; this is not the Bangladesh we built. I call upon the international community to stand with the people of Bangladesh in their struggle for democracy and justice."
Hasina alleged that the protests in Bangladesh in July and August 2024 that resulted in the collapse of her government were not a peaceful student movement.
She alleged that organised groups worked to turn the movement into a violent political instrument.
"I was forced away from my country but I am never separated from my people," she said.
Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy claimed that political killings have been legalised in Bangladesh since August 2024.
Bangladesh today is a failed state, there is no law and order in the country, he said.
What should concern New Delhi most is that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India's eastern border, he alleged.
India on Tuesday, August 4, distanced itself from Sheikh Hasina's planned virtual media interaction in New Delhi, emphasising that it does not endorse any views that may be expressed during the event.
Dhaka had on Monday, August 3, sought a clarification from the Indian side on Hasina's plan with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's foreign affairs adviser Humaiun Kobir saying the public interaction from Indian soil could undermine the positive momentum witnessed in the bilateral ties in the recent months.
Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on Monday that Hasina's public political activities from Indian territory could have a negative impact on relations between the two countries.
The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of the Hasina government.
The two sides initiated efforts to stabilise the relations after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Rahman as the prime minister in Dhaka on February 17.
Rahman became the prime minister following his party's landslide victory in the parliamentary polls. The Awami League was barred from contesting the polls.
In April, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman visited India as part of efforts to repair the strained bilateral ties following more than 18 months of heightened diplomatic tension.
It was the first high-level visit to India by a senior member of the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government.
Meanwhile, amid tightened nationwide security, Bangladesh on Wednesday, August 5, inaugurated a memorial museum at the official residence of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to commemorate the victims of violence during the anti-government protests in 2024 that toppled her government.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the 'July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum' at Ganabhaban, prime minister's official residence during Hasina's regime, coinciding with the day she fled to India on August 5, 2024.
“The killers in the anti-fascist movement will be tried in a transparent, impartial and credible manner following the due process of law,” Rahman said in a brief address while unveiling the museum’s plaque.
“Justice for every crime is essential to ensure rule of law” Rahman said as the Interim government chief Muhammad Yunus stood beside him.
The Prime Minister announced that government institutions would be named after slain activists of the uprising and those who were killed during the rule of Hasina’s Awami League since 2009.
(With Inputs from PTI)
