New Delhi:
Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for rioters in the country to be punished in his first comments after leaving Dhaka. She has also sought justice for the vandalism of the statue of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was also the founding father of Bangladesh.
In an emotional three-page statement posted to X by her son, Sheikh Hasina reminisced about the family members she lost when her father was murdered on August 15, 1975. Mujibur Rahman’s sons and their wives, his brother’s family, close colleagues and associates, were wiped out by the army the same night as part of a coup.
After paying her respects to them, she turned to the present day and said that the dance of destruction across the country in the name of protest has also led to many deaths – among students, teachers, police, journalists, social workers, common people, Awami League leaders and workers, pedestrians and office workers”.
“To those who have lost their loved ones, like me, I extend my deepest condolences. And for those involved in this massacre, this destruction, I demand that they be investigated, arrested and given appropriate punishment,” said a rough translation of her statement in Bengali.
The demonstrators targeted not only her, but also the house in which she grew up, a house that had been converted into a museum and was visited by many of the great and powerful from foreign shores.
‘That is now dust,,, and the memories we had – reduced to ashes… with the disrespect shown to Mujibur Rahman, under whose leadership we got our freedom, recognition and self-respect… the blood that was shed have been violated by thousands of freedom fighters…I demand justice from my countrymen for this,” she added.