DHAKA, Feb 6: On Thursday, Bangladesh formally protested to India’s acting envoy against what it termed “false and fabricated remarks” made by ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, describing them as a “hostile act” towards Dhaka. This protest follows Hasina’s virtual address to her supporters from exile in India a day prior.
The Bangladeshi foreign ministry urged India “to promptly implement suitable actions, in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding, to prevent her from disseminating such false, fabricated, and incendiary statements via social media and other platforms while she remains in India,” according to an official statement.
This incident arose a day after Hasina’s speech on Wednesday evening, in which she called for national resistance against the current government.
While she spoke, a significant group of protesters vandalized and set fire to the residence of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, in Dhaka. Similar incendiary incidents were reported in various locations, targeting Awami League officials.
The foreign ministry conveyed a “strong protest to the Government of India regarding the false and fabricated statements consistently made by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina across multiple platforms, including social media, which are instigating instability in Bangladesh.”
The protest note, submitted to the Acting High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, expressed Bangladesh’s “deep concern, disappointment, and serious reservations,” as these statements are “offending the sentiments” of the Bangladeshi populace, the statement indicated.
The ministry emphasized that her actions are deemed a “hostile act towards Bangladesh and are detrimental to fostering a positive relationship between the two nations.”
Hasina, age 77, has been residing in India since August 5 last year after fleeing Bangladesh due to a large student-led uprising that resulted in the ousting of her Awami League government, which had been in power for 16 years.
“They can destroy a building, but not the history… yet they must remember that history takes its revenge,” Hasina remarked during her address on Wednesday night while her father’s residence was being demolished.
“They lack the power to eradicate the national flag, the constitution, and the freedom that we achieved at the cost of countless martyrs’ lives with a bulldozer,” Hasina stated, seemingly referring to the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisors, and military and civilian personnel for “crimes against humanity and genocide.”
The interim government has also revoked the passports of Hasina and 96 others due to their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and killings that occurred in July.
In December, Bangladesh officially requested Hasina’s repatriation to face legal proceedings related to mass killings during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, known as the July-August uprising.
Originally established to prosecute those who collaborated with the Pakistani troops’ atrocities during the 1971 Liberation War, the ICT has issued two warrants directing authorities to ensure her arrest and appearance in court by February 12, as she is also accused of enforced disappearances during her time in power. (PTI)
