In her latest statement, Hasina warned the new interim government not be “used” by such foreign powers.
New Delhi: Sheikh Hasina, the former Bangladesh Prime Minister, accused foreign powers like the US of playing a hand in her ouster. Hasina, who is currently in India, said she wanted to address the nation, especially the protesters whose agitation forced her to quit the top job, before her resignation.
This comes days after the Indian government said it was analysing the possibility of a “foreign hand” behind the political crisis in Bangladesh. In a message conveyed to her Awami League supporters Saturday accessed by ThePrint, the 76-year-old former Bangladesh PM said, “I could have remained in power if I had left St. Martin and the Bay of Bengal to America.”
To recall, Sheikh Hasina had strained relations with the US for many years. Before January’s elections this year, she said “a white man” had offered her a smooth return to power in exchange for an airbase.
In her latest statement, Hasina warned the new interim government not be “used” by such foreign powers.
“I resigned so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over your (students’) bodies, I did not allow it. I came with power,” read Hasina’s statement accessed by ThePrint.
Hasina Says “She Will Return Soon”
In her message to supporters accessed by ThePrint, she vowed to return to the country, though accepting her defeat.
“I will return soon inshallah. The defeat is mine but the victory is [that of] the people of Bangladesh,” she stated.
“I removed myself, I came with your victory, you were my strength, you did not want me, I myself then left, resigned. My workers who are there, no one will lose morale. Awami League has stood up again and again,” she added.
The former prime minister also accused people of distorting her words.
“I want to repeat to my young students, I never called you Razakars…My words have been distorted. A group has taken advantage of your danger. ,” she said in the message.