Sheikh Hasina spoke to RT about the involvement of external forces in the uprising that ousted her in 2024<\/p>\n
Bangladesh\u2019s interim government was \u201cimposed\u201d on the people following last year\u2019s uprising, the South Asian nation\u2019s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina told RT in a written interview on Wednesday.
\nRecalling the events of August 2024, when she was forced to resign as prime minister and flee to India, where she now resides, Sheikh Hasina argued that there is \u201cforensic evidence\u201d suggesting that \u201cforeign mercenaries\u201d were present at the protests, instigating the masses.
\nShe also asserted that Nobel Peace laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who was named as leader of the country\u2019s interim government and has \u201cmany admirers in the West\u201d was involved in the uprising that left hundreds dead.
\nThe former PM also criticized the West for preaching democracy while ignoring the fact that the current leadership of Bangladesh has run the country for over a year and a half without holding elections. While general polling is expected to take place in the country in February 2026, the former ruling party, the Awami League, had been banned from participation.
\nThe interview comes as a Bangladesh court is hearing a controversial crimes against humanity case filed against Hasina. Dhaka has been put on high alert with security forces, including the army and police, deployed to maintain law and order amid continuing tensions.
\nMadam Sheikh Hasina, your government\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0just fall- it\u202fcollapsed like a house of cards.\u202fWas that chaos born on the streets\u2026 or scripted in Washington?\u00a0
\nThe protests began\u00a0peacefully\u00a0and\u00a0my government ensured\u00a0students\u2019\u00a0safety and listened to their concerns. But matters were\u00a0escalated by\u00a0radicalists\u00a0and\u00a0firebrands who\u00a0destroyed our communication infrastructure and burned down state buildings and police stations. Dr. Yunus\u00a0later\u00a0granted\u00a0indemnity to these hooligans and\u00a0even glorified\u00a0them\u00a0as \u2018July\u00a0warriors.\u2019\u00a0He also dissolved a Judicial Inquiry Committee into the origins of the violence.\u00a0Rather than giving grieving families and other Bangladeshis an independent and impartial inquiry into what happened last year, he has\u00a0sought\u00a0to scapegoat the Awami League.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Bangladesh government did not survive the wave of protests and killings. What does the future hold for the country?<\/p>\n
I have no doubt that Yunus and his followers were involved in fomenting the uprising.\u00a0There is\u00a0forensic evidence to suggest that foreign\u00a0mercenaries were present and acted as provocateurs.\u00a0It\u00a0is also true that Yunus has many admirers in the West. They preach democracy but ignore the fact that he has been imposed upon Bangladesh\u2019s people, rather than voted for by them.\u00a0All of that said, I do not believe the US government was\u00a0involved. I have had good relationships with successive presidents and am a particular admirer of President Trump.\u00a0
\nRumors\u00a0swirl around\u202fSt. Martin\u2019s Island.\u202fDid the US want a base there? Did you say no- and pay the price?\u00a0
\nThere have always been discussions surrounding St. Martin\u2019s Island, since the days of my father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.\u00a0I\u00a0will not\u00a0discuss confidential\u00a0conversations that may\u00a0have taken place with the US but, as\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0mentioned, we\u00a0had a constructive relationship with\u00a0Washington.\u00a0\u00a0
\nIs\u202fMuhammad Yunus\u202fa reformer or a\u00a0front-man\u00a0for American interests in Bangladesh?\u00a0
\nYunus had\u00a0many admirers in the West owning to his\u00a0previous\u00a0work as an economist. I imagine these admirers are dwindling in\u00a0number now.\u00a0They can see that\u00a0he has plunged our country into disorder, overseen arbitrary arrests and violence against citizens, and sown division.\u00a0
\nHe\u2019s\u00a0not a\u00a0front-man\u00a0for\u00a0the US government, however. Donald Trump has seen through him and is on record expressing his dislike of Yunus.\u00a0
\nAround the world,\u202f\u2018Gen Z protests\u2019\u202fare toppling governments overnight. Is it a coincidence, or playbook politics \u2013 external influence from third nations?\u00a0
\nThere are several factors driving youth-led protests around the world. Technology has given\u202fpeople access to more information\u202fand, in\u202fsome cases, social media has coarsened public debate. Yet the underlying themes are\u00a0clear.\u00a0Young\u00a0people everywhere are frustrated by limited economic opportunities, a perceived lack of\u202fa\u202fpolitical voice, and a sense that their leaders are\u202fnot representing them. This is\u202fnot a phenomenon\u202funique to Bangladesh, and we are likely to see similar situations\u202femerge\u202felsewhere if these issues are\u202fnot addressed.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The next Bangladesh elections are being called\u202f\u2018free\u2019 \u2013 but with you banned and the Awami League outlawed,\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0free about that?\u00a0
\nThese elections are neither free, fair, nor inclusive.\u00a0We are Bangladesh\u2019s principal\u00a0party,\u00a0supported by tens of millions,\u00a0and have been\u00a0elected nine times\u00a0in our country\u2019s history\u00a0\u2013 including in the last election our country had.\u00a0Without our participation,\u00a0Bangladeshis are not being\u00a0given a genuine\u00a0choice.\u00a0
\nFurthermore,\u00a0it was the Awami League that introduced key reforms to ensure transparency \u2013 photo-based voter lists, transparent ballot boxes, and the establishment of an independent Election Commission.\u00a0Ironically,\u00a0the only party which ensured free elections is now barred from\u00a0participating.\u00a0
\nYou face the harshest possible sentence under the\u202fICT.\u202fIs this justice, or\u202frevenge dressed as law?\u00a0
\nThe\u00a0ICT (International Criminal Tribunal)\u00a0has been turned into a\u00a0kangaroo court\u00a0by my political\u00a0opponents,\u00a0who are trying to use it to\u00a0nullify me and the Awami\u00a0League.\u00a0The ICT\u2019s verdict is a\u00a0foregone\u00a0conclusion\u00a0and the call for a\u00a0death sentence reveals the interim\u2019s government\u2019s\u00a0sense of\u00a0insecurity and its murderous intent.\u00a0Both the UN High Commissioner and Human Rights Watch have pleaded with Yunus to not pursue the death penalty. Both calls have gone ignored.\u00a0\u00a0
\nThe\u202fJuly Charter\u202fpromises reform by the interim Bangladesh government. Could this\u202fmanipulate Bangladesh\u2019s constitutional framework under foreign supervision?\u00a0
\nThe Yunus-led interim government has far exceeded the justifiable limits of an interim authority. Not one citizen of Bangladesh has cast a vote for Yunus, and yet he believes he can rewrite not just our laws, but our Constitution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Soros, Clinton, USAID and Nobel laureate: Ex-Bangladeshi minister exposes forces behind GenZ regime change (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
Reports suggest that hardliners are back, and minorities are terrified. Has Bangladesh traded\u202fstability for ideological chaos?\u00a0
\nWe worked hard to\u00a0contain\u00a0extremist forces during our time in office and to ensure that all citizens, no matter their religion, were free and safe to live their lives as they chose. These values were enshrined in our\u00a0Constitution.\u00a0Yet the Yunus regime\u00a0has overseen and even denied attacks against religious minorities, and\u00a0welcomed Islamic factions, businesses and\u00a0radicalists\u00a0into our country.\u00a0At the most basic level, a government must ensure the safety of its people. We must return Bangladesh to a place where ordinary Bangladeshis are no longer afraid to leave their homes.\u00a0\u00a0
\nRelations between Dhaka and Islamabad are warming up again. Is this a genuine, healthy reset, or\u202fa new axis in someone else\u2019s game?\u00a0
\nBangladesh wants\u00a0and needs a stable\u00a0relationship with\u00a0Pakistan,\u00a0but it needs to tread\u00a0carefully before\u00a0it gets too close.\u00a0
\nTo\u00a0confidently\u00a0forge our\u00a0nation\u2019s\u00a0place\u00a0in global politics, and to balance the safety of\u00a0our\u00a0country as well as the stability of the region, a leader\u00a0must\u00a0enjoy\u00a0the support and\u00a0consent of the people.\u00a0\u00a0
\nDr. Yunus has\u00a0not\u00a0been chosen by our country to make these decisions.\u00a0He is not a\u00a0politician and certainly not\u00a0a\u00a0statesman.\u00a0We\u00a0must rescue the\u00a0country from the\u00a0violence,\u00a0chaos\u00a0and\u00a0division\u00a0he\u00a0has sown domestically before we\u00a0can hope to\u00a0formulate a coherent\u00a0foreign\u00a0policy.\u00a0\u00a0
\nThey say\u202fBangabandhu\u2019s name\u202fis fading from public life. Is that erasure accidental – or\u202fdeliberate de-Mujibization?\u00a0
\nEverybody in Bangladesh knows that my\u00a0family\u00a0had the privilege of playing a role in securing\u00a0independence from Pakistan\u00a0and building\u00a0an independent, proud Bangladesh.\u00a0They also know that my family paid for that privilege in its own blood. Many families across the country also remember their own martyrs. Those memories\u00a0will not fade\u00a0despite\u00a0Yunus\u2019s efforts\u00a0to rewrite\u00a0our\u00a0history.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
READ MORE: \u2018India out\u2019: Why Bangladesh may regret trying to get rid of New Delhi<\/p>\n
India once bet on you. Now\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0silent. How do you see\u202fBangladesh-India relations\u202funder current dynamics?\u00a0
\nIndia is a longstanding friend, and I am deeply grateful to the\u00a0Indian\u00a0people for welcoming me.\u00a0However,\u00a0Yunus\u2019 sponsorship of extremists, his failure to\u00a0protect\u00a0Hindus, and\u00a0the\u00a0idiotic hostile\u00a0rhetoric\u00a0towards India emanating from Dhaka,\u00a0threaten\u00a0to undo the partnership that\u00a0we\u2019ve worked\u00a0hard to cultivate.\u00a0So does the unravelling of trading ties that has happened\u00a0under his watch. But the ties that bind our\u00a0countries are deep.\u00a0I\u00a0am grateful for India\u2019s support and patience as they wait for Bangladesh to\u00a0get its affairs in order.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sheikh Hasina spoke to RT about the involvement of external forces in the uprising that ousted her in 2024 Bangladesh\u2019s interim government was \u201cimposed\u201d on the people following last year\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t