Sheikh Hasina. Photo: zerkalo
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has made a significant public statement calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the numerous deaths that occurred during student protests, which led to her ouster. Hasina made her first official comments since her removal from office and subsequent escape to India, following an announcement by the army chief about her dismissal and the establishment of an interim government.
In a statement shared on social media by her son, Sajeeb Wazed, Hasina emphasized the need to investigate those involved in the killings and acts of vandalism and to hold them accountable. The former prime minister, who ruled Bangladesh with an iron fist for over 15 years, is now facing scrutiny over her handling of the uprising, which resulted in over 400 deaths. Hasina asserts that these deaths were the result of terrorist attacks.
“My deepest condolences to those who, like me, are suffering the loss of loved ones,” Hasina said in her statement, made on the eve of the anniversary of the 1975 military coup, which claimed the lives of most of her family, including her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a leader of the independence movement.
The house in Dhaka, where Hasina’s family was killed, has been turned into a memorial. After the fall of Hasina’s government, a crowd set fire to the museum located at the site. “The memory that was the foundation of our survival has been burned to the ground,” she remarked.
In Dhaka, statues of her father were desecrated. These actions have been some of the most visible signs of public outrage against Hasina, who, despite leading Bangladesh to economic success, became increasingly authoritarian.
The interim government, led by Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus, has canceled the national holiday on August 15, which had long been observed as a day of national mourning. Hasina has urged Bangladeshis to lay wreaths and offer prayers at the site where the memorial once stood.
“They have insulted the blood of millions of martyrs,” she said about the vandals who burned the memorial. “I seek justice from my fellow countrymen.”
Source: Bloomberg
