Marking the first anniversary of her government’s ouster, Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has called on Awami League members to continue their struggle for justice, peace, and religious harmony.
In a statement issued from London, Hasina denied stepping down despite official claims and reaffirmed her faith in Bangladesh’s people. “I believe in you. I believe in Bangladesh. And I believe that our best days are yet to come,” she wrote in what she described as an “open letter to the honest, hard-working and patriotic people of Bangladesh,” reflecting on what she called “the fall of democracy.”
Hasina fled Dhaka on August 5 last year after widespread student-led protests toppled her administration. Since then, she has lived in self-exile in India. Although authorities and the army chief announced her resignation at the time, no resignation letter was ever made public, fuelling ongoing speculation in Dhaka’s political circles.
Her statement comes as Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) begins her trial in absentia for alleged crimes against humanity linked to last year’s crackdown on protesters. On Sunday, the chief prosecutor, Tajul Islam, described Hasina as the “nucleus of all crimes” and sought the highest possible sentence.
Despite the Awami League being banned in May by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, Hasina urged the party to continue its campaign inside Bangladesh. “Let this anniversary not be a day of retrospection, but a rallying cry for a brighter tomorrow. Bangladesh has overcome adversity before, and we will rise again, stronger, more united, and more determined to build a democracy that truly serves its people,” she said.
Unlike her earlier statements, Hasina did not directly criticise Yunus or the caretaker government. Instead, she condemned what she called “daily acts of violence, assaults on the most vulnerable people in our society and mindless destruction of our country’s core infrastructure” over the past year.
“We have endured hardship, but in that hardship, we have found unity and purpose,” she wrote. “Power belongs to the people, and no regime can suppress the will of a nation forever. While our struggle is not over, our cause is just.”
Calling for continued resistance, Hasina urged supporters to “stand for justice, for economic opportunity, for education, for peace, for religious harmony and for a nation where no one lives in fear… Together, we will reclaim the institutions that were unlawfully seized.”
Meanwhile, India has yet to respond to the caretaker government’s extradition request for Hasina, reportedly because Dhaka has not completed the formal legal process. Bilateral ties between the two neighbours have sharply deteriorated since Yunus took charge, with repeated disagreements, including over the treatment of Bangladeshi minorities.