Sheikh Hasina Makes First Public Speech in Two Years: ‘I Will Return in December’

August 6, Kathmandu – Following the violent student protests of 2024, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been exiled in India, expressed her views publicly for the first time in two years. On Wednesday evening, she shared her perspective during a virtual press conference. Unlike typical video conferences, this event was conducted via audio only. The press conference was organized by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi, marking Hasina’s long-awaited participation.

During the press conference, Hasina addressed her plans to return home, discussed her party, the Awami League, the current political climate in Bangladesh, and her thoughts on the 2024 student movement. She reiterated her announcement to return to Bangladesh this December, a timeline that had previously been reported in the media. “I will return to my people in December,” Hasina stated, adding that the exact date of her return would be announced at an appropriate time.

“This is not the Bangladesh I know,” Hasina said, acknowledging possible attempts to implicate her with fabricated charges. However, she emphasized that neither fear nor her responsibility to the people would deter her. She highlighted the immense distress and turmoil Bangladesh has endured over the past two years. “This is not the Bangladesh we built. This is not the Bangladesh for which 3 million people sacrificed their lives in 1971,” she remarked.

Regarding the student protests of July and August 2024, Hasina commented that these movements were not peaceful. “The truth is, it was not a peaceful student movement,” she said. “From the beginning, my government sought peaceful solutions through dialogue and legal processes.” She alleged that some organized groups attempted to transform the student protests into violent political tools. “They wanted to turn the legitimate demands of students into a single violent political weapon,” Hasina asserted. She also clarified that her views were not those of an individual but were expressed in the interest of the Bangladeshi people. “I have spent my life with the people of Bangladesh and was forced to leave my country, but I have never been separated from my people,” she affirmed.