‘Choice of the Bangladeshi people’: US denies involvement in fall of Sheikh Hasina govt, unrest

The US, responding to allegations of its involvement in the Bangladeshi unrest that culminated in the fleeing of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from the country, has said that these are baseless allegations and not true.

During a media briefing White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean Pierre, answering a question on its response to the allegations, said, “We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumours that the United States government was involved in these events are simply simply false and not true. This is a choice for and by the Bangladeshi people. We believe that the Bangladeshi people should determine the future of the Bangladeshi government. Any allegations as I have said and will continue to say, are not true."

Pierre also stated that the US will continue to monitor the situation. “We are certainly going to continue monitoring the situation. I don't have anything else to add beyond that. But, when it comes to any type of human rights issues, the president (Joe Biden) has been very consistent in speaking loud and clear in public and also privately and he'll continue to do that,” she said as she was asked to respond to calls from Hindu-American groups and Indian-American lawmakers seeking the US government's intervention in protecting the lives and properties of the Hindu community, which is in minority in Bangladesh, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

This comes after media reports suggested that Hasina claimed that she could have stayed on as the PM if she had given the sovereignty of Saint Martin’s Island, allowing thereby the US to dominate the Bay of Bengal. 

However, Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed, in a post on social media said, “The recent resignation statement attributed to my mother published in a newspaper is completely false and fabricated. I have just confirmed with her that she did not make any statement either before or since leaving Dhaka.”

An interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was officially sworn in Bangladesh. The primary objective of this interim government is to facilitate the upcoming elections in the country. This political shift follows a period of significant unrest, marked by widespread demonstrations and violence. The turmoil began with student protests last month against the quota system that reserved a large portion of government jobs for specific groups. The protests quickly escalated into a broader campaign calling for the resignation of PM Sheikh Hasina.