"Whatever Fate Awaits Me, I Will Return To My People": Sheikh Hasina

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her virtual address on Wednesday, said that she will return to Bangladesh and it does not matter what fate awaits her. She claimed that her return is not about power but about putting the country back on track for development, secularism and prosperity.

"I know, they may put me in jail or kill me," she said, adding, "I will go back home to be with my people."

Speaking through a video link, she told media representatives that she decided to go back to Bangladesh because the people "suffered a lot" and she could not take it anymore. 

"December Is Our Victory Month"

"December is our victory month. So, I want to go back in the month of December. I know I may face anything," she said.

In the address, while speaking about her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's, assassination during a military coup, she broke down. 

"Before I speak about the present crisis, I pay my deepest homage to the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to the salient national leaders, and to the three million martyrs of our war of liberation. I also remember with profound grief members of my own family, whom I lost on 15th August, 1975," she said while audibly becoming emotional.

She said that although she was "forced away" from her country, she was "never separated" from her people.

August Violence Not A "Peaceful Student Movement": Hasina

In her address, hosted by the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) of South Asia, she asked the international community to back her nation's "struggle" for democracy.

She recalled the July-August 2024 unrest that led to her ouster and said that it was not a "peaceful student movement" but an organised campaign that was aimed at regime change. 

"Muhammad Yunus himself said this was a meticulously designed movement, led by a mastermind. His own words expose the truth. It was not simply a spontaneous student protest. There was no visible or responsible leadership, instructions were given invisibly; it was organised, directed and used to create a path to power outside ballot box..." she said.

She said that after 5th August, violence became a "campaign of political persecution". She claimed that Awami League leaders and workers are being killed, disappeared and arrested from their homes.

Hasina said that no one who stood for the spirit of the Liberation War is safe currently.

Detailing the physical and cultural toll, Hasina alleged that symbols associated with Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War were vandalised, members of minority communities and journalists targeted, and the historic Dhanmondi 32 residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman demolished in an attempt to erase the legacy of the Liberation War.

India Distances Itself From Hasina's Press Event

Ahead of the address, the government sought to distance itself from the press event, clarifying that New Delhi does not endorse any statements made during the session.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "The government has no involvement whatsoever in it. Neither does it endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum."

The ministry recently informed a parliamentary committee that while granting asylum to Hasina, India has strictly maintained its policy, ensuring no political activity targeting another sovereign nation is conducted from Indian territory.