Photo: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
The United States was in no way involved in the removal of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who recently resigned and fled the country, the White House said on Monday, calling allegations of interference in Bangladesh “absolutely false.”
“We were not involved in this in any way. Any reports or rumors that the US government was involved in these events are absolutely false.”— White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing on Monday when asked about allegations of U.S. interference in Bangladesh's political process, Reuters reported.
On Sunday, India's Economic Times newspaper published a story claiming that Hasina had accused the U.S. of being behind her ouster as Washington seeks to gain control of the island of St. Martin in the Bay of Bengal. The newspaper said Hasina had conveyed the message through close associates.
Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed said in a post on social media X on Sunday that she never made such a statement.
"We believe that the people of Bangladesh should decide the future of their government and this is precisely the position we occupy”, — the White House added.
An interim government in Bangladesh led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on Thursday with the aim of holding elections in the Asian country.
Bangladesh rocked by protests protests and violence after student demonstrations against quotas reserving large portions of government jobs for certain ethnic groups escalated into a campaign to unseat Hasina.
Hasina won an election boycotted by the opposition for the fourth time in a row in January and which the State Department said were not free and fair. After leaving Bangladesh, she went to New Delhi, ending her continuous 15-year rule of the country.
Prepared by: Sergei Daga