Sheikh Hasina refuses to apologise for July protester deaths

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has refused to apologise for the deadly crackdown on street protests that left at least 1,400 deaths ultimately led to her downfall last year, she said this during a interview with The Independent.

In an e-mail interview to Reuters, Hasina said that she had no plans of leaving India, warning that millions of voters would be boycotting the election in Bangladesh if her party, the Awami League, wasn’t allowed to participate.

“I would of course love to go home, so long as the government there was legitimate, the Constitution was being upheld, and law and order genuinely prevailed,” she told Reuters.

Speaking out in one of her first interviews since her ousting, Hasina told The Independent on Wednesday that she would “neither be surprised nor intimidated” if Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced her to death, calling the proceedings “a sham trial” driven by political vengeance.

“The ICT is a sham court presided over by an unelected government consisting of my political opponents. Many of those opponents will stop at nothing to get rid of me,” she said. “Because of my family’s history, nobody can be more aware than I am of the history of political assassinations in our country and this move by the ICT is part of that ugly tradition.”

“The next government must have electoral legitimacy. Millions of people support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works.”

Hasina said the Awami League would eventually return to play a role in Bangladesh’s future — whether in government or opposition — and that her family need not lead it.

Her son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, who lives in Washington, told Reuters last year he might consider leading the party if asked.

“It’s really not about me or my family,” Hasina said. “For Bangladesh to achieve the future we all want, there must be a return to constitutional rule and political stability. No single person or family defines our country’s future.”

“I would of course love to go home, so long as the government there was legitimate, the constitution was being upheld, and law and order genuinely prevailed,” she said.

Hasina added that she was not asking her supporters to back other parties, but hoped “common sense will prevail” and her party would be reinstated before polling begins.