In her first online speech, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, with an emotional tone, posed a question to the people of Bangladesh: Are those who commit murder and destruction fascists?
She said, “Those who work for the welfare of the people, ensuring food, clothing, and shelter, bringing electricity to homes, and improving lives—are they fascists? Who are the autocrats? The people of the country will decide.”
Hasina’s speech was broadcast on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 9 PM Bangladesh local time, through the verified Facebook page of the Bangladesh Awami League. She addressed members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League.
At the very moment she was speaking, bulldozers were demolishing the historic house of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka.
Expressing her anguish, Sheikh Hasina said, “Why is that house being destroyed? Who is behind this? I ask the people of the country to judge.”
“Yes, my sister and I survived with only the memories of that house, and now those memories are being erased. Earlier, it was set on fire, and now it is being demolished. They may destroy a building, but they cannot erase history.”
She expressed hope that Bangladesh would rise again with the participation of all.
Criticism of the Interim Government
In her 47-minute speech, Hasina highlighted the achievements of her government while criticizing the current interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.
“Through hard work, in just 15 years, we made Bangladesh a developed country and gained recognition as a developing nation. But today, everything has been destroyed,” she said.
Condemning the current lawlessness, she asked, “Who will take responsibility for this barbarism? The police are being killed, and around 400 Awami League leaders and activists have been brutally murdered. Hands and legs are being chopped off, throats are being slit. Students, youth, women—no one is spared. If a son is missing, the mother is arrested, tied to a tree, and humiliated. People are being slaughtered on prayer mats or burned alive. What kind of brutality is this?”
She further questioned, “Who are these people? Are they not perpetrators of genocide? Are they not autocrats?”
Accusations Against Muhammad Yunus
Holding Muhammad Yunus responsible for the country’s current situation, Hasina accused him of orchestrating a meticulous plan to kill her and her sister.
“Despite everything, Allah has protected us! Bangladesh will rise again, built on the spirit of the Liberation War. The blood of martyrs will never be in vain,” she declared.
On the ban on Chhatra League, she said, “They have banned Chhatra League. They have no right to do so because Yunus’ takeover of power is completely illegal and unconstitutional. He has seized power through weapons and money, by shedding people’s blood.”
Call for Resistance
Hasina urged the people of Bangladesh to resist the current caretaker government.
“I call upon the people of Bangladesh to protest against this injustice, to build resistance. Do not let Bangladesh be destroyed in this way,” she said.
In an emotional conclusion, she assured the people, “I am with you. No matter how far away I am, my heart is with you. And you are in my heart. I had forgotten all my grief because of the people of Bangladesh—I had taken the people of Bangladesh as my own family.”
She also claimed that students were misled into the movement that led to her government’s fall.
“But unfortunately, we now see that the so-called movement for equality has instead created inequality. Students are being deprived of education, teachers are being humiliated, and the learning environment in institutions is being destroyed. Why should this situation persist?”
Addressing students directly, she said, “I tell the student community, those who misled you down the wrong path—our grievance is not against the general students. We hold no anger or complaint against you. Because I understand, this is the nature of youth.”