Sheikh Hasina’s First Address from India Targets Yunus Government, Alleges Human Rights Abuses in Bangladesh

New Delhi: Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently living in exile in India, has launched a sharp attack on the interim government led by Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, accusing it of being a “foreign puppet” and calling upon the people of Bangladesh to rise against what she described as an illegitimate and oppressive regime.

In her first public address since being ousted from power on August 5, 2024, Hasina issued an audio message ahead of Bangladesh’s general elections scheduled for February 12. The message was initially played at a programme titled “Save Democracy in Bangladesh” at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club and later released by the Bangladesh Awami League on social media.

Hasina alleged that democracy in Bangladesh has been “forced into exile” under the Yunus-led interim administration. She accused the government of dismantling democratic institutions, suppressing press freedom, and failing to maintain law and order across the country.

“Human rights have been trampled, freedom of the press has been destroyed, and violence, torture, and sexual assaults against women and girls continue unabated,” Hasina said in her address. She further claimed that religious minorities are being systematically targeted and subjected to widespread persecution.

The former Prime Minister also accused the interim government of deliberately barring the Awami League from participating in the upcoming elections, alleging that Yunus’s administration is incapable of conducting free and fair polls.

Using strong language, Hasina described Mohammad Yunus as “corrupt, power-hungry, and a traitor,” accusing him of being part of a conspiracy that led to her removal from office. She called for a unified national movement inspired by the spirit of Bangladesh’s Liberation War to protect the Constitution, which she said was “written with the blood of martyrs.”

In her Bengali-language speech, Hasina demanded an impartial investigation by international agencies into the events that have unfolded in Bangladesh since the formation of the interim government. Labeling the Yunus administration a “foreign-backed force,” she termed it an “enemy of the nation.”

Calling upon the “brave sons and daughters of Bangladesh,” Hasina urged citizens to defend the Constitution and the democratic values upon which the country was founded.

Her remarks have intensified political tensions in Bangladesh at a crucial moment, just weeks before the national elections, drawing regional and international attention to the country’s unfolding political crisis.