Sheikh Hasina accuses the United States

 

Sheikh Hasina accuses the United States of having provoked her departure from the post of prime minister after her refusal to release the island of St. Martin.

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused the United States of orchestrating her departure from the country after it refused to hand over sovereignty over the island of St. Martin, which would have given Washington control of the Gulf. of Bengal. Located in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, the island of St. Martin is only three square kilometers, but its geopolitical importance is immense.

I was resigned to not having to see the procession of corpses. They wanted to take power over the corpses of the students, but I did not allow it. I have resigned as prime minister,” Hasina was quoted as saying by the Economic Times. "I could have remained in power if I had given up sovereignty over the island of St. Martin and allowed America to control the Bay of Bengal. I beg the people of my country not to let be manipulated by radicals," he added.

"Maybe if I had stayed in the square, more lives would have been lost. I pulled back. You were my strength, you didn't want me, so I left."

Regarding student protests against quotas, Hasina clarified her comments on 'Razakar'. The term is used to refer to a paramilitary force recruited by the Pakistan Army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

"I never called you Razakar. My words are twisted to stir up trouble. I invite you to watch the entire video of that day. The conspirators took advantage of your innocence to destabilize our nation." Relations between Hasina and the United States

It is the first time since Hasina left New Delhi after the resignation of the prime minister that she is talking about the events that forced her to take such a drastic decision. Washington and Dhaka were at odds for some time when Hasina was in power. The friction was evident when Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January, but the US State Department rejected the results, saying the election was neither free nor fair. Earlier on Sunday (August 11), reports emerged that some senators in the US Congress urged the White House to impose sanctions on officials who served under Hasina over allegations of humanitarian abuses.

"The Bangladeshi leaders who orchestrated this brutal crackdown must be held accountable, so we call on the administration to sanction Secretary General Quader and Interior Minister Khan as we continue to work to support a peaceful and democratic Bangladesh," he said. said Van Hollen. a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Five other congressional Democrats also supported the request and sent the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, asking for sanctions against these officials.