No Foreign Hand, Says Sheikh Hasina On Claims Of US Involvement In Bangladesh Upheaval | Exclusive

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has dismissed suggestions that the United States played an active role in supporting groups that sought her removal from power under the pretext of “restoring democracy”. Speaking to CNN-News18’s Manoj Gupta in her first extensive conversation since leaving Dhaka, Hasina said Bangladesh has maintained “good relationships with successive US administrations” and that there is “no reason to believe” Washington or other foreign powers were directly involved in the country’s political developments. Though she acknowledged that the country’s interim leader, economist Muhammad Yunus, had built a network of influential supporters in the West, Hasina said many of those admirers had mistaken his economic reputation for democratic credibility. “While Yunus has cultivated a network of influential Western admirers from his work as an economist, those who admired him mistook his economic theories for democratic credentials. Now, this illusion is fading, and those admirers are increasingly seeing him for what he is: an unelected head of state who has placed radical extremists in his cabinet, dismantled Bangladesh’s constitution, and stood silent while minorities have been oppressed,” she said. Hasina also said US President Donald Trump, with whom she said she had “very good relations,” had publicly expressed his dislike of Yunus. The ex-PM added: “If Westerners think Yunus is a friendly face, they are being fooled. In fact, he is being used as the frontman by the extremists in his administration, who are pursuing a sectarian, score-settling, and socially regressive domestic agenda.” Hasina’s remarks come amid continued debate over the extent of foreign involvement in Bangladesh’s political transition and the role of Western governments in shaping perceptions of democracy in the country. However, the former prime minister gave a clean chit to the United States, noting instead that the Western powers were blinded by the “illusion” Yunus put up.