"Seek Justice From My Country": Sheikh Hasina In First Remarks After Ouster

Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in first comments after leaving Dhaka, has sought that rioters in the country be punished. She has also sought justice for the vandalism to the statue of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was also the Founding Father of Bangladesh.

In a three-page emotive statement posted on X by her son, Sheikh Hasina reminisced about the family members she lost when her father was assassinated on August 15, 1975. Mujibur Rahman's sons and their wives, his brother's family, close colleagues and associates, were wiped out the same night by the army as part of a coup.  

After paying her respects to them, she turned to the present day, saying the dance of destruction across the country in the name of protest, has also led to many deaths -- of "students teachers, police, journalists, social workers, common people, leaders and workers of the Awami League, pedestrians and office workers".

"For those who have lost their loved ones like me, i extend my deepest sympathy. And for those involved in this slaughter, this destruction, I demand that investigations be held and they be caught and given appropriate punishment," read a rough translation of her statement in Bengali.

The protesters had not only targeted her, they had also targeted the house she grew up in, one that was turned into a museum and was visited by many great and powerful from foreign shores.

"That is now dust,,, And the memories we had -- that have been reduced to ashes… with the disrespect shown to Mujibur Rahman, under whose leadership we got our freedom, recognition, self-respect... the blood shed by thousands of freedom fighters has been desecrated... I demand justice for this from my countrymen," she added.