“In Bangladesh, their identity is that of criminals, in the eyes of the law they are fugitives. They face allegations of crimes against humanity, murder, treason, or embezzlement of funds. Yet, these exiled leaders of the Awami League, sitting in the crowded food court of a shopping mall in Kolkata, savouring black coffee and Indian fast food, are plotting their political return to Bangladesh.”
The Guardian report published on Tuesday begins by noting that the fugitive leaders of the Awami League are making political preparations to return to the country from India. When ousted from power on 5 August 2024, in the face of intense student and mass movements, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, along with ministers, state ministers, members of parliament, and Awami League leaders, took refuge in India.
Against whom there are numerous cases in Bangladesh; in the verdict of some cases, some have even been given the death penalty. There are also other sentences including imprisonment.
Regarding them, The Guardian wrote, “More than 16 months ago, a popular uprising against Bangladesh’s authoritarian prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, forced her to flee the country in dramatic fashion. As protesters surged towards her residence in Dhaka, she was airlifted to India, leaving behind bloodied streets. According to a UN report, at least 1,400 people were killed during a crackdown on protesters during the July uprising in Sheikh Hasina’s rule.”
“After Sheikh Hasina, thousands of leaders and activists of her party also fled the country facing cases of mob beatings and various crimes. Currently, over six hundred Awami League leaders have taken refuge and are in hiding in the Indian city of Kolkata near the border.”
In this situation, The Guardian believes that to keep the party’s activities and organisational structure intact, India has become an important lifeline for them.
The report states, “In May last year, under pressure, the interim government banned all political activities of the Awami League. At the same time, investigations and trials began against the party’s top leaders for multiple crimes including murder and corruption. The party has also been banned from campaigning or participating in the national parliamentary election to be held for the first time since the fall of Hasina’s government.”
The report also mentions that last year, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death in a case of crimes against humanity.
Speaking to Awami League leaders residing in India, The Guardian wrote that Sheikh Hasina refuses to accept that her political career is over. She has rejected this verdict and is making various plans to return to the country.
The Guardian claims that Sheikh Hasina is inciting her workers and supporters to disrupt the upcoming election.
The report also attempts to give an idea of where Sheikh Hasina is and in what environment, by speaking with leaders and activists.
It states, “From a heavily guarded secret hideout in the Indian capital Delhi, Sheikh Hasina spends hours meeting and talking with party leaders and activists. Her political activities are being conducted under the watchful surveillance of the Indian government. India was a close ally of Sheikh Hasina while she was in power, and despite repeated requests from Bangladesh’s interim government to extradite her, the Indian government has avoided doing so.”
The Guardian reports that over the past year, senior party leaders, including former members of parliament and former members of the cabinet, have been regularly summoned from Kolkata to Delhi. They have discussed political strategy with Sheikh Hasina. Among them was Saddam Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Chhatra League.
Saddam Hossain told The Guardian, “Our leader Sheikh Hasina has connections with the people of Bangladesh. She maintains contact with party workers, leaders, grassroots people, and various professional organisations. She is preparing our party for the upcoming struggle.”
The interim government has listed the Chhatra League, of which Saddam is the president, as a ‘terrorist organization’. Saddam has denied the allegations, despite facing multiple cases of treason and crimes against humanity.
He further said, ‘She (Sheikh Hasina) spends almost 15-16 hours a day in meetings or on phone calls. Our leader is extremely optimistic that she will return to Bangladesh. We believe Sheikh Hasina will return in the guise of a hero.’
Referring to allegations of massive vote rigging in the last two elections under Sheikh Hasina, the report states that the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has promised that this February election will be Bangladesh’s first free and fair election in over a decade.
However, the Awami League claims that not allowing them to participate in this election is destroying democratic legitimacy. The party’s leaders and activists allege that Muhammad Yunus is satisfying personal vengeance against their leader. Since Yunus was once a victim of Sheikh Hasina’s persecution and was also her political rival.
To Awami League leaders and activists, Muhammad Yunus is the ’embodiment of Satan’. However, Yunus has always denied all these allegations brought against him.
The Guardian spoke with former minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak. He is also an accused in a crimes against humanity case, and he too has denied the crimes.
He told The Guardian, ‘We have told our party workers to stay away from this election. To boycott the election campaign and voting, and not to participate in any way in this farcical process.’
The Guardian says, ‘For those who considered the Awami League’s 15-year rule in Bangladesh as autocracy, when they see the party suddenly speaking about democracy, human rights, and press freedom, extreme suspicion arises in their minds.’
‘According to human rights organizations and UN documents, during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, critics and dissenting voices were regularly repressed. Thousands of people were subjected to enforced disappearances, tortured, and killed in secret prisons. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, many were freed from those secret prisons. Press freedom and judicial independence were trampled, and elections turned into a farce.’
The report mentions that although the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus promised to take the country on a new democratic path, there have also been some allegations against them.
These include misuse of anti-terrorism laws against journalists, failure to protect freedom of expression and minority rights, and deterioration of the law and order situation. Additionally, there is criticism that the tribunal that sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death did not fully uphold international standards.
Awami League leaders residing in Kolkata claim to The Guardian that hundreds of their workers have been killed in the name of revenge, and those in jail are not being granted bail.
Saddam Hossain says, ‘We are not in Kolkata for fear of imprisonment; we are here because we will be killed if we return to the country.’
Geopolitical instability
The Awami League’s vocal presence in Delhi and Kolkata has created an uncomfortable situation for India. Especially, questions are being raised about allowing the activities of a banned party to continue from their own soil and providing safe haven to ‘wanted’ criminals in the eyes of Bangladeshi law.
The report states that India-Bangladesh relations have deteriorated since the fall of Sheikh Hasina. However, Awami League leaders in Kolkata say they do not fear that India will send them back.
The Guardian says this geopolitical tension took an extreme turn last week when Sheikh Hasina delivered a speech from Delhi for the first time. In an audio message, she condemned the upcoming election and accused Muhammad Yunus of being a ‘usurper of power’.
After the broadcast of this speech, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed strong resentment.
They said, ‘Giving permission for such an event in the capital of India and allowing a genocidal person like Sheikh Hasina to publicly make hateful statements is a clear insult to the people and government of Bangladesh.’
However, once again, the Indian government did not respond.
The Guardian says that among the top Awami League leaders spending their days in comfortable accommodations in Kolkata, there is not much remorse seen regarding the allegations of human rights violations against them. Most leaders refuse to accept the 5 August uprising as a populist movement; rather, they see it as a ‘conspiracy’ to overthrow the government.
Awami League’s joint general secretary, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, also lives in a luxurious house in Kolkata. The Guardian spoke with him there. When the topic of cases against him was raised, he dismissed them as “fake”.
So far, the plans of these exiled leaders largely depend on the failure of the upcoming election. They believe this election will not bring stability or peace to the country, and ultimately, the people of Bangladesh will want the Awami League again.
However, former MP Tanvir Shakil Joy expressed a slightly different opinion than other exiled leaders.
He admitted, saying, “I accept that we were not angels. We were autocratic, we were not fully democratic. The 2018 election was not transparent either, which is unfortunate.”
Regarding corruption allegations, he said, “There were certainly some irregularities. Some financial transactions occurred that should not have happened, and we must take responsibility for those.”
However, he denied allegations of siphoning $200 billion from the country during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule.
Like many living in Kolkata, Joy also believes that their exiled life will not last long. Although he knows that imprisonment awaits him if he returns to the country, he remains optimistic.
He told The Guardian, “The situation for us is very, very bad right now. But I don’t think this will last for very long.”
