On the occasion of Bangladesh’s 54th Victory Day, marking the 1971 surrender of Pakistani forces and the country’s independence, five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina released a strongly worded statement from exile in India, accusing the current interim government of undermining the spirit of the Liberation War and pledging a resurgence of her Awami League party.
Sheikh Hasina described the events of the past 17 months as a resurgence of “defeated forces” from 1971.
In her message dated December 15, she said that under the guise of an anti-discrimination movement, opponents orchestrated “planned terror” and illegally seized power, targeting symbols of the Liberation War, including the burning of her historic residence at Dhanmondi 32โthe site from which her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, declared independence.
“Alongside the pride of victory, it must be said with sorrow today that the defeated forces of 1971 have once again risen,” she said.
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She alleged widespread attacks on statues, memorials, and museums dedicated to the war, as well as physical assaults on freedom fighters and the release of convicted war criminals.
Sheikh Hasina labelled the current era one of “anarchy,” with efforts to slander Bangabandhu and rewrite the war’s history.
She called on citizens to uphold the “spirit and values of the Liberation War.” She vowed: “We will defeat the defeated forces once again… Bangladeshโs victory will come again under the leadership of the Awami League.”
The statement ended with poetic lines: โLet dawn break through the darkness. May Bangladesh live forever.”
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