3 weeks ago
Sheikh Hasina Wants to Return Home, Calls India a 'Great Friend'
Sheikh Hasina used to be the leader of a country called Bangladesh.
Last year, she had to leave her country and went to live in India.
Now she is talking to news reporters from India using a phone call.
She told them that she really wants to go back home to Bangladesh.
She said she is going back for the people of her country, not for the government.
The government in Bangladesh does not want her to talk to the people there.
They stopped her speeches and are asking India to send her back.
A court in Bangladesh also gave her a very serious punishment last November.
Sheikh Hasina says India is a great friend of Bangladesh.
She believes India has always helped Bangladesh in hard times, like in 1971 and 1975.
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she wants to return to Bangladesh, insisting she is going back 'for my people,' not for any government.
She spoke at a virtual press conference via audio call, her second public media interaction since being ousted and fleeing to India on August 5, 2024.
Hasina said she was not ready to leave Bangladesh in 2024 and did not know she was coming to India, where she took shelter.
Bangladesh has imposed a 'blanket ban' on her speeches, according to a question from NDTV's Aditya Raj Kaul.
Last November, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced Hasina to death in absentia for alleged 'crimes against humanity' over the 2024 crackdown on student-led protests, and Dhaka is urging New Delhi to extradite her.
- Who
- Sheikh Hasina, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, now in exile in India, speaking to NDTV's Aditya Raj Kaul.
- What
- Hasina responded to questions about whether she wants a back channel with Dhaka before returning home and how she will communicate with Bangladeshis despite a ban on her speeches.
- Where
- India, via a virtual press conference held through an audio call.
- When
- Wednesday, during her second public media interaction since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024; her death sentence was handed down last November.
- Why
- Hasina wants to return to Bangladesh for her people, saying India is a great friend, while Dhaka has banned her speeches and is urging India to extradite her.
Sheikh Hasina's Position
Bangladesh Government's Position
Return to Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina's Position
Hasina says she wants to return to Bangladesh now and is going 'for my people,' insisting it is not a matter of which government is in power.
Bangladesh Government's Position
The current Bangladesh government has imposed a blanket ban on her speeches and, after her death sentence, is urging India to extradite her.
India's Role
Sheikh Hasina's Position
Hasina calls India a 'great friend' that has always stood beside Bangladesh in disastrous situations and given shelter, citing 1971 and 1975.
Bangladesh Government's Position
Dhaka's position, implied through its extradition requests, is that government-to-government relations are distinct and Hasina should face justice in Bangladesh.
Key facts
- Former role
- Prime Minister of Bangladesh
- Fled to India
- August 5, 2024
- Current location
- India (took shelter after ouster)
- Sentence
- Death in absentia, imposed last November by a special tribunal in Dhaka
- Charge
- Alleged 'crimes against humanity' over the 2024 crackdown on student-led protests
- Speech status
- Blanket ban imposed by Bangladesh on her speeches
- Extradition demand
- Dhaka urging New Delhi to extradite her
- Media interaction
- Second public interaction since ouster, via audio call press conference
Quotes
Sheikh Hasina
Bangladesh Prime Minister in exile
“"Any time Bangladesh is in a disastrous position, India has always stood beside them and they give shelter every time - be it 1971 or 1975. Now, government to government relationship is different. But India always has been a great friend, and I know they will remain that."”
NDTV
“"I told you that I was not ready to leave my country (in 2024). I didn't know that I was coming here. But somehow I reached here and took shelter."”
NDTV
Sources
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