'Yunus Involved In Genocide': Sheikh Hasina Slams Bangladesh Interim Government For Failing To Protect Hindus, Other Minorities

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has accused interim government chief Muhammad Yunus of perpetrating “genocide”.

In her first public speech since resigning in August and leaving the country, Hasina also slammed Yunus for failing to protect Hindus and other minority groups.

Hasina, who sought refuge in India after being ousted from office due to large-scale protests spearheaded by student groups, made the remarks in a virtual address to supporters of her Awami League party.

Her speech was part of an event held in New York on Sunday to commemorating “Bijoy Dibos” or Victory Day, which marks the 1971 liberation war victory over Pakistan.

Hasina’s longstanding rivalry with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus resurfaced during the speech as she accused him of being the “main perpetrator of genocide” and “power hungry”.

She repeated allegations of corruption and money laundering linked to Yunus’s Grameen Bank, the development bank he founded to launch microfinance schemes.

While Hasina has previously issued statements via her son Sajeeb Wazed or the Awami League’s social media channels, this marked her first public address on recent political events in Bangladesh.

Speaking in Bengali for nearly an hour, Hasina alleged a conspiracy to assassinate her and her sister Sheikh Rehana, similar to the 1975 killing of their father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by army officers.

“The armed protestors were directed towards Ganabhaban. If the security guards opened fire, many lives would have been lost. It was a matter of 25-30 minutes, and I was forced to leave. I told them [guards] not to fire no matter what happened,” she said, referring to the chaos leading to her departure from Dhaka on 5 August.

“Today, I am being accused of genocide. In reality, Yunus has been involved in genocide in a meticulously designed manner. The masterminds – the student coordinators and Yunus – are behind this genocide,” she said, Hindustan Times reported.

Hasina alleged that police personnel, members of minority communities and Awami League leaders were killed during the protests, and “mosques, shrines, dargahs, churches and Buddhist places of worship” were attacked.

“Hindus, Buddhists, Christians – no one has been spared. Eleven churches have been razed, temples and Buddhist shrines have been broken. When the Hindus protested, the ISKCON leader was arrested,” she said, in an apparent reference to the recent arrest of Bangladeshi monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges.

“What is this persecution of minorities for? Why are they being ruthlessly persecuted and attacked?” she said.

“People no longer have the right to justice...I never even got the time to resign," Hasina added.

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