A year after Hasina’s flight: Bangladesh will bring ‘Yunus and gang’ to justice, says Awami leader

On this day one year ago, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina resigned from the premiership and fled her homeland to India, marking the end of her 15-year-long reign. What prompted her to resign from her post was the violent protests that took over Dhaka. A protest, which started as student demonstrations against the government’s controversial quota law, soon turned out to be a full-blown revolution that also took countless lives.

After Hasina’s exit, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was appointed as the country’s interim chief adviser. While hopes of reforms and stability took over Bangladesh, the dream of getting things back to normal soon started to fade.

The dismantling of the police infrastructure during the protests led to a rise in crime and extremism even after an interim government came to power. While it was predicted that Yunus would not be staying in power for long, it will be one year on August 8 when he took oath to the office, with the dates of the next general elections still not clear.

In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost’s Bhagyasree Sengupta, Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel, Organising Secretary of Bangladesh’s Awami League and a Member of Parliament when Hasina was ousted from power, spoke in detail about the current situation in Bangladesh and expressed hopes in the party’s comeback in the country’s political landscape.

‘A meticulously designed protest’

While recalling the events of the July uprising, Nadel called the demonstration a “meticulously designed protest,” which was intended to cause chaos and topple the Hasina government. “The protests that took place in Bangladesh in July-August, 2024, the people who were involved in those protests said that it was a meticulous design, or it was a long- term project . And, this project was a complete war against the current government of Bangladesh,” he said in a telephonic interview with Firstpost.

“They attacked various stations, they attacked police, they took away the police’s weapons and killed the police. We have not seen a protest like this in other countries. We have seen a lot of movements and protests in the past, but there has been no movement which instilled so much fear.”

He noted that the demonstration initially started as a protest against quotas for the family members of freedom fighters. However, they claimed that today, these protesters have been “given land and privileges in Bangladesh”.

“While the current media says the violence was orchestrated by Hasina’s regime, those who had attacked are boasting to the media that they were the ones who did these things,” he added.

The veteran Bangladeshi politician claimed that there were a lot of foreign actors from the West and Pakistan who were involved in the conspiracy against Bangladesh. “Those who protested against the quota rule, today, after one year, have arranged different quotas, accommodation, plots, and flats for themselves. This is proof that they were given all quotas,” he exclaimed. Nadel also emphasised how extremists used false narratives to incite innocent students.

One year of Yunus

While speaking on Yunus’s rule over the country , Nadel recalled that back in 2006-07, Yunus had political ambitions and wanted to come to power. “At that time, he was a political activist. And he was running various cases in support of the people. And at that time, the people of Bangladesh were supporting him. However, he wanted a contract where he would be responsible for reforms for 10 years.”

“He has been saying he wants to bring reforms , promising to press the reset button. He said a lot of things after coming to power this time. However, he has done nothing. Today in Bangladesh, 40-70 per cent of people still support the Awami League.”

“Since then, he has been against the Awami League and Bangladesh’s freedom fighters. He has also spoiled ties with neighbouring nations like India. The ties between the two countries have never been this bad. He has been making ignorant comments like the one about India’s seven sisters.”

“While he has won a Nobel Peace Prize in the past. But in this one year under him, the country only saw chaos. There is no consideration of any kind of courts, centerist leaders and advocates are being harassed and physically assaulted. There is no consideration of any kind,” he remarked. Nadel also revealed how pro-Awami League media have been facing atrocities within the country.

The Hasina-era MP pointed towards Yunus’s reluctance to leave power. “He does not want elections. Sometimes he says it will happen in December, sometimes he claims to hold them by February next year, sometimes April,” he said.

Awami League’s plans as it faces a ban

Soon after Yunus came to power, his interim regime imposed a ban on Hasina’s Awami League , barring the party from contesting future elections. When asked by Firstpost how the party sees itself operating in such circumstances, Nadel emphasised that the Awami League is waiting for the right time.

“After the Yunus government came to power, they persecuted hundreds of leaders of the Awami League and religious minorities across the country,” he said.

“The government-backed goons have destroyed various temples and historic sites. They attacked the graves of freedom fighters in various places. Awami League is a political party; it is not a party to revolt like that.”

“If Awami League stands in the election, they will not be able to even compete with the party. This is why they are attacking Awami League leaders. Hence, we are taking some time. Because our greatest strength lies in the ordinary people of Bangladesh. We are creating awareness among them,” the Bangladeshi politician averred.

Nadel claimed that ordinary people in Bangladesh are angry with the current regime. “They are saying they were good before. They were peaceful during Hasina’s tenure. This is why we want to take time to maintain peace. Amid the public anger, we may have joined the public on the ground, but right now we are taking time because we don’t want our political organisation to be attacked.”

When asked if the party is interested in contesting independently, like Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf did after facing a ban in the February elections, Nadel remained adamant that “Awami League would only contest as a party.”

‘Disrespecting Bangabandhu is like disrespecting independence’

While the demonstrations were raging on last year, protesters vandalised everything related to Hasina and her family, including tarnishing the legacy of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman . One photograph featuring protesters climbing over Rehman’s statue and vandalising it became a symbol of the July uprising.

Destroying Rehman’s legacy did not stop after the toppling of the Hasina government. In February this year, well after the Yunus government took over in Bangladesh, a large group of protesters vandalised and set on fire Bangladesh’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s residence in Dhaka during a live online address of his daughter.

When asked about such instances, Nadel noted that “Disrespecting Bangabandhu is like disrespecting the country’s freedom struggle and independence.” He also pointed out how the people of India stood by Rehman and his team during the freedom struggle.

“The government of India, at that time, went to all the countries of the world to fight for Bangladesh’s freedom. It went to all the countries to fight for the rights of the people of Bangladesh. We also got a lot of support from Russia. While the Americans were on our side, they supported Pakistan,” the Hasina-era MP recalled.

He also recalled the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in 1975 and spoke about the civil war that followed. “Not only Bangabandhu, but the house of Bangabandhu, the houses of the freedom fighters, were vandalised during last year’s protest. Freedom fighters were decorated with garlands of shoes around their necks. We have to see those things,” Nadel told Firstpost. 

The Awami League leader made it clear that “Yunus and gang” would be brought to justice the same way the assassins of Bangabandhu faced their fate. “We will just have to wait for the right time,” Nadel said.

Elections without the Awami League and the Trump question

When asked about the rise of extremist parties like Jamaat-e-Islami in mainstream politics in Bangladesh, Nadel made it clear that an election “without the Awami League won’t get the public mandate or International recognition”. “Inclusive election is the need of the hour,” he said.

Nadel also expressed scepticism about Yunus taking victory laps over the reduction of the tariffs by US President Donald Trump. The Trump administration imposed tariffs on different countries around the world. With Bangladesh, it was initially 37 per cent and then 35 per cent. Now it has been decreased to 20 per cent," he said.

“For this, the Yunus government undertook measures without the consent of the people. In other ways, he is also trying to reduce Bangladesh’s close relationship with India and China.”

“The Yunus regime agreed to form a Rohingya corridor and lose control of St Martin’s Island to America. If the West permits the Pakistanis to use the borders of Bangladesh, then the political situation will be questioned and the peaceful situation will be changed”.

“Nadel noted that Bangladesh’s garment industry relies on both India and China. If the relationship between both of them worsens, the question will be whether Bangladesh’s economy will be able to handle this crisis,” he averred.

When asked how Bangladeshi parties would be able to reverse these dramatic changes, Nadel pointed out that while Islamist parties don’t have responsibility to the people, ex-PM Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is only tolerating the current situation and trying to “please Yunus”, to ensure the elections are held in the country.

Will Sheikh Hasina return to Bangladesh

While speaking on the future of Bangladesh, Nadel also reacted to the Yunus government’s frequent request for the extradition of Sheikh Hasina . It is pertinent to note that India has yet to respond to the demands. “The people and the leaders of India have good ties with the ordinary citizens of Bangladesh. Hence, I don’t think India would extradite Hasina if there is a safety concern,” Nadel told Firstpost.

He went on to refer to Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal’s (ICT) case against Hasina. Nadel called it a “ camera trial ”. The remarks from the Awami League leader came on the same day ICT commenced trial against Hasina over allegations of committing crimes against humanity. Nadel also quoted a Dhaka judge who recently said in an opinion post that Bangladesh is on life support.

Nadel expressed hopes for “reform and Democracy coming back in Bangladesh. “They destroyed democracy in the country like pirates. I don’t believe they would last long,” Nadel told Firstpost. “People will support Hasina because they are frustrated with the current regime,” he added.