Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has mounted a stinging attack on the country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus over alleged persecution of minorities. In a virtual address at an event in New York, Hasina accused Yunus of perpetrating “genocide” and failing to protect minorities including Hindus. She also claimed that there were plans to assassinate her and her sister Sheikh Rehana just like their father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975. It was Hasina’s first public address after taking shelter in India following her resignation in August in the face of massive anti-government protests, though she had commented on the overall situation in Bangladesh. “The armed protestors were directed towards Ganabhaban. If the security guards opened fire, many lives would have been lost. It was a matter of 25-30 minutes, and I was forced to leave. I told them [guards] not to fire no matter what happened,” she said referring to the storming of her official residence in Dhaka on August 5.
“Today, I am being accused of genocide. In reality, Yunus has been involved in genocide in a meticulously designed manner. The masterminds — the student coordinators and Yunus — are behind this genocide,” she said at the event on Sunday. Hasina said the current ruling dispensation in Dhaka failed to protect the minorities.
“Hindus, Buddhists, Christians — no one has been spared. Eleven churches have been razed, temples and Buddhist shrines have been broken. When the Hindus protested, the Iskcon leader was arrested,” she said in an oblique reference to the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das. “What is this persecution of minorities for? Why are they being ruthlessly persecuted and attacked?” she said.
“People no longer have the right to justice… I never even got the time to resign,” she said speaking in Bengali. Hasina said she left Bangladesh in August with an aim to stop the violence, but that did not happen. The relations between India and Bangladesh came under strain after the interim government headed by Yunus came to power. India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.
Hasina has been staying in India since she left Bangladesh following massive anti-government protests in July and August. In her speech at the event hosted to mark Bangladesh’s ‘Vijay Diwas’, the Awami League leader also alleged that there was a plot to assassinate her. “When people were dying indiscriminately, I decided I should leave,” she said.
There has been a spate of attacks on minorities including on the Hindu community in Bangladesh in the last few months. India last week said the interim government in Bangladesh must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities as it expressed serious concern over the “surge” of extremist rhetoric and increasing incidents of violence against Hindus.
New Delhi also hoped that the case relating to Das, arrested on a charge of sedition, would be dealt with in a just, fair and transparent manner. “Our position on the matter is very clear — the interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing on Friday.
“We are concerned at the surge of extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation. These developments cannot be dismissed only as media exaggeration. We once again call upon Bangladesh to take all steps for the protection of minorities,” he added.
