Bangladesh has criticised former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s live interaction with the media from New Delhi, calling the event an “affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh” and saying it could affect efforts to improve ties with India.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (August 5), the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Hasina of using the interaction to launch “venomous vitriol” against Bangladesh and its people.
The reaction came hours after the former prime minister announced that she plans to return to the country in December despite facing a death sentence and several criminal cases.
Dhaka says concerns were shared with India
The Foreign Ministry said Bangladesh has informed the Indian government of its concerns before the event took place.
“Bangladesh is outraged that the absconding convicted genocider Sheikh Hasina was allowed this evening to engage in live interaction with the media in New Delhi where she and her henchmen launched venomous vitriol against the State of Bangladesh and her people,” the ministry said.
It added, “Dhaka regrets that in spite of concerns conveyed a priori to the Government of India about the likely ramifications of this event on the reset of our bilateral relations, this public event was permitted to be held.”
According to the ministry, the media briefing took place on the second anniversary of the July Revolution, making the timing particularly sensitive.
It described the event held on Indian soil as “an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh” and “a grievous insult” to the “martyrs of the July Revolution”.
Strong criticism of Hasina’s remarks
The ministry also rejected Hasina’s comments about the July-August 2024 unrest and accused her of denying findings documented by the United Nations.
“The denial of facts established by the United Nations, including gruesome killing of the innocent civilians including minor children during July-August 2024 by the fascist regime, stands as a futile attempt by the absconding convicted mass murderer Hasina and her criminal cohort to reverse the tide of history. The people of Bangladesh had already rejected such heinous attempts in the past and continue to do so now,” the statement said.
Reaffirming the ideals of the July Revolution, the ministry stated that the people of Bangladesh has decided “that our nation will never again go back to the dark days of fascism and that Bangladesh will never be a client state. Convicted mass murderer Hasina and her mafia enterprise will never have a place in the polity of Bangladesh”.
Extradition demand repeated
The Foreign Ministry also renewed its call for Hasina’s extradition from India under the bilateral Extradition Treaty signed in 2013.
It said Bangladesh wants to maintain “a constructive, mutually beneficial and forward-looking relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and national dignity”
The statement added Bangladesh has repeatedly requested India to return Hasina but has not received a response.
“On the contrary, allowing her the opportunity to openly interact with the media under any pretext is deeply hurtful to our people’s sentiment and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India,” the ministry said.
Hasina repeats December return plan
Earlier on Wednesday, Hasina addressed her first virtual press briefing from New Delhi since leaving Bangladesh in 2024.
During the interaction, she repeated that she intends to return to her country in December and said she is prepared to face arrest, imprisonment or even threats to her life.
“Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering… I want to go back in December,” she said.
The former prime minister said she could not stay outside Bangladesh while her supporters and fellow citizens continue to face hardship. Her statements came two years after she left the country following the 2024 student-led movement that led to the fall of her government.
