“I
could have remained in power if I had left St. Martin and the Bay of Bengal to
America,” she said in a message conveyed to her Awami League supporters
Saturday.
The Hasina government saw
strained relations with the US for many years. Ahead of January’s elections
this year, she said “a white man” had offered her a smooth return to power in
exchange for an airbase.
In
her latest statement, Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister in
Bangladesh’s history, warned the new interim government not be “used” by such
foreign powers.
The 17-member advisory
council, which includes four members who lean towards the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP) and three affiliated with the Jamaat-e-Islami, took
oath Thursday night.
The
Bangladesh Parliament was dissolved earlier this week, after army chief General
Waker-Uz-Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation shortly after she fled the
country.
“I
resigned so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They
wanted to come to power over your (students’) bodies, I did not allow it. I
came with power,” read Hasina’s statement.
“Maybe
if I was in the country today, more lives would have been lost, more wealth
would have been destroyed,” she added.
She
is also expected to address the media while in India next week.
Over
300 people died in weeks-long student protests against Hasina. The United States,
Britai, Canada and other countries have called for investigations into
the deaths of students.
With the new interim government
in Dhaka, Washington said it hopes it will “chart a democratic
future” in Bangladesh.
Nobel
Laureate Mohammed Yunus, leading the new interim government, is believed to
have strong ties with the US. In the past, he has held frequent meetings with
American diplomats to “bemoan” the state of Bangladeshi politics, according to
WikiLeaks cables.
The
US is also Bangladesh’s largest foreign direct investor.
‘I
will return soon’
In
her message to supporters and party cadres, she vowed to return to the country,
though accepting her defeat.
“I
will return soon inshallah. The defeat is mine but the victory is [that
of] the people of Bangladesh,” she stated.
“I
removed myself, I came with your victory, you were my strength, you did not
want me, I myself then left, resigned. My workers who are there, no one will lose
morale. Awami League has stood up again and again,” she added.
The
former prime minister also accused people of distorting her words.
“I
want to repeat to my young students, I never called you Razakars…My words have
been distorted. A group has taken advantage of your danger. ,” she said in the
message.
The
term ‘Razakar’ is considered to be derogatory in Bangladesh as it refers to
‘volunteers’ who collaborated with the Pakistan Army during Bangladesh’s 1971
war for independence.
