New Delhi, August 5: Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, expressed her concerns about the current situation in her country during a virtual conversation held in Delhi on Wednesday. She labeled the 2024 student movement as a well-orchestrated political conspiracy. Hasina stated that her government attempted to resolve the movement peacefully, but organized groups escalated it into violence.
She said, “I am not just speaking as someone who has had the honor of serving as Prime Minister of Bangladesh five times, but also as the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I am the person who has spent my entire life with the people of Bangladesh. I have been separated from my country, but I have never been apart from my people. For the past two years, I have watched my beloved Bangladesh endure difficult circumstances. Fear has infiltrated homes, workplaces, and university campuses. This is not the Bangladesh we built together, nor is it the Bangladesh for which 3 million people sacrificed their lives in 1971.”
The former Prime Minister emphasized that she wants to start with the realities of July and August 2024. “In my view, this was not a peaceful student movement. From the beginning, my government sought to address the issue through dialogue, legal processes, and patience. However, some organized groups turned the students’ demands into a violent political weapon. Muhammad Yunus himself stated that this was a carefully planned movement led by a mastermind. His own words indicate that this was not a spontaneous student protest.”
She noted that there was no clear or responsible leadership for this movement. Instructions were being given from behind the scenes. It was organized and systematically executed, aiming to create a pathway to power outside the electoral process. The nature of the movement began to change on July 15, leading to incidents of murder, arson, attacks, and looting. Government institutions and properties were damaged and destroyed.
Hasina remarked, “Even after the BNP came to power through fraudulent elections, the situation did not improve. Bangladesh remains trapped in an atmosphere of fear, terror, despair, economic troubles, and deep insecurity.”
She accused the government of large-scale political repression over the past two years. She claimed that at least 10,000 people have been killed or gone missing, 650,000 arrested, and 3,500 cases filed. Approximately 450,000 leaders, activists, and supporters of the Awami League were named as accused, while over a million others were listed as unknown defendants. Hasina also claimed that more than 600 cases have been filed against her.
She stated, “Members of student organizations such as the Student League, Youth League, and other affiliated groups are facing abuse. They are subjected to humiliation and torture while in custody. Many leaders and activists have lost their lives in jail. Numerous incidents of torture, denial of medical care, lack of food, negligence, and deprivation of basic rights have been reported. These atrocities are not limited to Awami League members. Members of minority communities, judges, lawyers, intellectuals, cultural figures, journalists, professionals, laborers, and even rickshaw pullers, farmers, and ordinary citizens have also been victims of attacks, arrests, or murder accusations.”
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