Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that her return home depends on the restoration of “participatory democracy”, lifting of ban on Awami League and holding of free, fair and inclusive elections.
In an exclusive email interview to PTI from an undisclosed location in India, Hasina also accused the unelected Yunus administration of “endangering relations with India and empowering extremist forces”.
Comparing his foreign policy to that of the current interim government of Bangladesh, he said the ”broad and deep” relations between Dhaka and New Delhi should be able to counter the foolish activities of Yunus’ tenure.
Hasina thanked the Government of India for granting her asylum and said she was “extremely grateful to the Government of India and the people of the country for their generous hospitality”. “My most important condition for returning to Bangladesh is what the Bangladeshi people want: return of participatory democracy,” he told PTI. The interim administration will have to lift the ban on Awami League and conduct free, fair and inclusive elections.
Hasina, Bangladesh’s longest-serving Prime Minister, left the country on August 5, 2024, after weeks of violent anti-government protests. This large-scale agitation led to his resignation and eventual return to India, paving the way for the Yunus-led interim administration.
Asked whether his government mishandled the protests, the 78-year-old leader said, “Obviously, we did not have control over the situation and that is regrettable.” “Many lessons can be learned from these terrible incidents, but in my view, some responsibility also lies with the so-called student leaders who instigated the mob,” he said.
Hasina also rejected reports that she had called for a boycott of the elections to be held in February next year. He insisted that no election would be legitimate without the involvement of the Awami League.
“Lakhs of people support us…it would be a huge missed opportunity for our country, which desperately needs a government that rules with the true consent of the people,” he said. I hope this foolish ban will be lifted…Whether in government or opposition, Awami League should be part of the political dialogue in Bangladesh.”
Hasina said India has “always had the most important international relations with Bangladesh”. He accused the Yunus-led interim government of jeopardizing relations with New Delhi by making “stupid and self-defeating” diplomatic mistakes. “Yunus’s hostility towards India is foolish and self-defeating, portraying him as a weak monarch who is unelected, anarchic and dependent on the support of extremists,” he said, adding, “I hope he does not make many more diplomatic mistakes before stepping down.”
Seeking to reassure Indians worried about the current hostile environment in Bangladesh, Hasina said, “The interim government does not represent the views of our countrymen and women.” India is and will remain the most important friend of our country.
Hasina also said she was ready to face trial under international monitoring, “even at the International Criminal Court (ICC)”. But he alleged that Yunus was avoiding such process because an impartial tribunal would acquit him.
“I have repeatedly challenged the Yunus government to prosecute me in the International Criminal Court if it is so confident about its case,” he said. Yunus has been avoiding this challenge because he knows that the ICC, which is indeed an impartial tribunal, will definitely acquit me.
Hasina has dismissed Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal, which has initiated proceedings against her, as a “kangaroo tribunal” controlled by her political rivals, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. “They are trying to neutralize both me and the Awami League as political forces,” he alleged. That they will use the death penalty to suppress their opponents shows how little respect they have for democracy or due process.”
According to Hasina, Yunus enjoys “at least the passive support of some Western liberals” who mistakenly thought he was one of them.
“Now that they have seen him (Yunus) inducting radicals in his cabinet, discriminating against minorities and destroying the Constitution, it is expected that they will withdraw their support,” the former prime minister said.
