Awami League President and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressed party leaders through a virtual meeting on Thursday night, declaring that her party remains the most popular political force in Bangladesh despite “all propaganda” and vowing to return to power.
‘No Election Under Yunus Can Ever Be Free Or Fair’
Hasina claimed the interim government led by Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus was deliberately sidelining the Awami League to rig future polls.
“Under Yunus, no election can ever be free or fair,” she said. “To legitimise their illegal power, they will rig votes, secure a two-thirds majority, and try to legalise their rule. That is exactly why they have removed the Awami League from the scene. Despite all the propaganda, the Awami League is still the most popular party among the people.”
She insisted only her party could restore stability: “Only the Awami League can make Bangladesh economically self-reliant again, ensure women’s rights, protect the rights of children and youth, establish the rule of law and bring socio-economic progress. We have proved it.”
‘He Whom Allah Keeps Alive, Who Can Kill?’
Hasina dismissed reports that the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) had already sentenced her to death, saying she was unaware of the exact charges.
“I am speaking to you today not knowing exactly what human rights violations I have already been sentenced to death for,” she said. “My question is—how did I violate human rights? Whom did I kill? That is my question. How will they prove it?”
“Let Yunus pronounce my death sentence as many times as he wants. He whom Allah keeps alive, who can kill? I am here for the people of Bangladesh, and I will remain here,” she declared.
Yunus Ordered Gopalganj Killings
Hasina directly blamed Dr. Yunus for the recent violence in Gopalganj, alleging he personally ordered the army to open fire at unarmed Awami League supporters.
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“Dr. Muhammad Yunus ordered the army chief to deploy troops and gave direct orders to shoot,” she claimed. “Innocent people—a shop worker and a standing Chhatra League-Jubo League leader—were shot dead and then crushed under army boots. This massacre in Gopalganj happened on Yunus’s direct orders. The real accused in that genocide is Yunus himself.”
ICT-BD: A Complete Farce
Hasina described the revived International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) as politically motivated and procedurally illegal.
“The court he has set up—the ‘International’ Crimes Tribunal—where is the ‘international’ part?” she asked. “They appoint a 72- or 73-year-old judge when High Court judges retire at 67. There are no rules.”
“This law was enacted in 1973 to try war criminals,” she continued. “But now, without parliament, they amend the law again and again through executive orders—even during the trial. That is not justice; that is a mockery.”
‘Show Me The List’
Hasina rejected allegations that she was responsible for 1,400 deaths during the July-August student-led uprising.
“I challenge them: let them produce the list of 1,400 people,” she said. “Let them give it to the UN Human Rights Commission.”
She claimed the violence escalated only after July 15 and accused the current administration of fabricating evidence, citing the case of student Abu Sayed.
“His own father testified that the bullet entered from the back of the head, yet the whole world was shown footage of him supposedly taking a bullet to the chest,” Hasina said. “Why was no forensic examination done on anybody before accusing me?”
She added that she had formed a judicial inquiry commission on July 18, headed by a High Court judge, which Yunus dissolved immediately after taking power on August 8.
‘Bangladesh Has Become A Sanctuary For Militants’
Hasina accused the interim government of destroying the economy, stripping women of rights, and turning the country into a militant haven.
“Bangladesh has been turned into a sanctuary for militants under the leadership of Dr. Muhammad Yunus,” she said. “There is no law, no justice, no rule of law. There is no freedom of speech, no press freedom, no democratic rights, no basic rights, no security of life.”
She urged democrats worldwide not to support what she called a “government of the militants, by the militants, for the militants.”
The virtual meeting marks Hasina’s most detailed public response since the Awami League was effectively banned, and its senior leadership faced mass arrests and cases following the August 5 fall of her government.
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