(Web Desk) – Ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has hinted the “United States' role” in her unceremonious ouster from power on Aug 5.
In a letter which she reportedly written to India’s The Economic Times, she said “I resigned to avoid witnessing further violence. They aimed to seize power over the dead bodies of students, but I prevented that by resigning.”
The ex-premier had said that she wanted to address the nation before resignation. But the security officials suggested her to leave as the marchers came close to the Prime Minister’s House.
Hasina, who fled the country in a military helicopter to India, was quoted as saying that had she stayed in the country, more deaths and destruction would have taken place.
“I became your leader because you chose me; you were my strength,” she addressed the Bangladeshi people.
In the letter published by The Economic Times, Sheikh Hasina has accused the US of conspiring to change the government in the country and if given the opportunity, she would have said this in her speech.
The violence that erupted in mid-July over quota in government jobs for the families of those who fought Bangladesh’s war of independence claimed more than 300 lives.
Addressing the student protesters, Hasina clarified that she never called them “Razakars”.
"My words were distorted to incite you. Watch the full video of that day to understand how conspirators have exploited your innocence to destabilise the nation,” the Awami League leader said.
The term "Razakars" is often used to refer to people who were believed to be collaborators of the Pakistani military during the 1971 Liberation War.
Hasina also claimed that she could have remained in power had she “surrendered the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island and allowed America to hold sway over the Bay of Bengal”.
"I beseech to the people of my land, ‘Please do not be manipulated by radicals’,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.
In her message to the party workers that was part of her planned speech, Hasina said that the “Awami League has always bounced back. Don't lose hope. I will be back soon. I have lost but the people of Bangladesh have won, the people for whom my father and my family laid down their lives.”
In May, Hasina had alleged a conspiracy to create a Christian state similar to East Timor by partitioning parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. She claimed she was offered an easy reelection if she allowed a foreign nation to establish an airbase in Bangladesh, without naming the country.
SON DENIES ANY SUCH STATEMENT
"The recent resignation statement attributed to my mother published in a newspaper is completely false and fabricated. I have just confirmed with her that she did not make any statement either before or since leaving Dhaka," Sajeeb Wazed said in an X post.