What did Sheikh Hasina say today? Here is her full speech transcript.

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday delivered a sweeping speech on the country’s political crisis, the July-August 2024 uprising, violence against Awami League members and Bangladesh’s economic condition. She defended her government’s response to the unrest, accused Muhammad Yunus and opposition groups of pursuing power through organized violence, called for the restoration of political and media freedoms, and declared that she would return to Bangladesh despite the possibility of imprisonment.

The following is the full transcript of her remarks:

“Thank you very much. It is a great honor for me to be with you.

Thank you to everyone present here and to all who are listening: distinguished journalists, members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, respected guests, friends of Bangladesh, ladies and gentlemen.

Assalamu alaikum.

I thank the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia for giving me the opportunity to speak to you. I also thank the journalists who continue to follow events in Bangladesh with seriousness and courage.

Journalism has a duty to seek truth, especially when power tries to hide it. In difficult moments of history, that duty becomes even more important.

Today, I speak not only as someone who had the honor of serving Bangladesh five times as prime minister, but also as the daughter of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

I speak as someone who has spent her life with the people of Bangladesh. I was forced away from my country, but I was never separated from my people.

Remembering Bangladesh’s martyrs and Sheikh Kamal

Before I speak about the present crisis, I pay my deepest homage to the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu; the four national leaders; and the three million martyrs of our War of Liberation.

I also remember with profound grief the members of my own family whom I lost on Aug. 15, 1975.

Today is also the birthday of my beloved brother, Sheikh Kamal, who was two years younger than me.

He was a brilliant freedom fighter, a youth leader, a sports organizer and a cultural activist. His life represented the courage, creativity and patriotism of the young generation of Bangladesh.

I remember him today with deep love, pain and pride.

Bangladesh’s present condition

Ladies and gentlemen, for the last two years, I have watched my beloved Bangladesh suffer.

Fear has entered homes, workplaces and campuses.

This is not the Bangladesh we built. This is not the Bangladesh for which three million people sacrificed their lives in 1971.

July and August 2024

Let me begin with the truth about July and August 2024.

It was not a peaceful student movement from the beginning.

My government tried to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue, legal processes and patience. But behind the language of reform, organized groups were working to turn students’ demands into a violent political instrument.

In 2018, responding to student demands, we abolished the quota system.

In 2024, when the High Court annulled the decision, the government appealed because we wanted to uphold the abolition.

I personally took the initiative to hold a dialogue with the students and invited them to Gono Bhaban, the prime minister’s residence. Three ministers also held discussions with them.

A quota reform movement was turned into a one-point demand for my resignation.

False propaganda was spread in a blatant way. Genuine students were emotionally manipulated while organized groups used their movement as cover for violence and regime change.

Muhammad Yunus himself said this was a meticulously designed movement led by a mastermind. His own words exposed the truth.

It was not simply a spontaneous student protest. There was no visible or responsible leadership. Instructions were given invisibly.

It was organized, directed and used to create a path to power outside the ballot box.

Escalation of violence

From July 15, the character of the movement changed.

Killings, arson, attacks and looting began. State property was destroyed.

Bangladesh Television was attacked and set on fire. Other buildings and facilities that were attacked included:

• Setu Bhaban
• The Directorate General of Health Services
• The Expanded Programme on Immunization vaccination building
• Hanif flyover
• Metro Rail stations
• The Elevated Expressway
• Science research facilities
• The Disaster Management office
• A national database center
• A COVID-19 special hospital
• Bangladesh Medical University
• Residential hotels
• Industrial facilities
• Businesses
• Narsingdi and other district jails

These sites were attacked, vandalized or burned. Criminals accused or convicted of terrorism were released.

Awami League offices were vandalized across the country. Leaders and workers were attacked and killed. The homes of ministers and senior figures associated with my government were looted and burned.

Attacks on media and law enforcement

The media was also targeted.

Media centers, private television stations and newspaper offices were attacked or set on fire. Journalists were killed.

Law enforcement agencies came under organized attack. Police stations were attacked or set on fire. At some stations, personnel were trapped inside buildings and burned alive.

Weapons were looted, and officers were beaten to death.

At least 3,000 personnel were killed, attacked, tortured or subjected to serious violence.

So, I ask a simple question: In such a situation, what is the duty of law enforcement?

When police stations are burned, government buildings are attacked, public infrastructure is destroyed, officers are killed and weapons are looted, does the state have no duty to protect life and property?

In every country, law enforcement has a responsibility to protect citizens, state institutions and their own lives.

This is not a crime. That is the duty entrusted to them by law.

Judicial Inquiry Commission

At the same time, I wanted the truth to be known.

That is why I formed a Judicial Inquiry Commission on July 18, 2024.

Its purpose was clear: Every casualty had to be investigated, every incident of violence had to be examined, and every family deserved to know the truth.

I met victims’ families, visited the injured and instructed the authorities to provide the highest level of medical treatment free of cost.

On Aug. 1, I strengthened the inquiry by expanding it into a three-member commission so the investigation would be credible and comprehensive.

Allegations against the interim government

But after seizing power, the illegal interim government led by Muhammad Yunus stopped the investigation.

They did not allow the truth to come out. They gave indemnity to those who were involved in the killings.

If they truly wanted justice, why did they stop the inquiry? If they had nothing to hide, why protect the killers?

That one decision tells the truth.

They did not want justice. They wanted power.

They did not want an investigation. They wanted the evidence buried.

Their own words expose the truth.

A Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader said the revolution would not have succeeded if police had not been killed and the Metro Rail had not been set on fire.

A Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader in Sylhet also said publicly that police stations were burned and police were killed to make the revolution succeed.

These statements show that the July-August movement was not merely a quota reform movement.

It became a coordinated assault on constitutional order driven by hidden instructions, organized violence and propaganda.

Political persecution after Aug. 5

The conspiracy did not end on Aug. 5.

After Aug. 5, violence became a campaign of political persecution.

The killing that began July 16 with the murder of Shujon, a Dhaka College student and Student League activist, has not stopped.

Awami League leaders and workers are being:

• Killed
• Disappeared
• Arrested
• Dragged from their homes
• Burdened with false cases

At least 10,000 people have been killed or disappeared. Over the last two years, 650,000 people have been arrested and 3,500 cases have been filed.

Nearly 450,000 leaders, workers and supporters are accused in those cases. More than 1 million others have been accused as unnamed defendants.

More than 600 cases have been filed against me.

Women activists from Chhatra League, Jubo League and other affiliated organizations are facing abuse, humiliation and torture in custody.

Many leaders and workers have also died in prison amid documented accounts of torture, denial of medical treatment, deprivation of food, negligence and denial of basic rights.

Attacks beyond the Awami League

The persecution is not limited to members of the Awami League.

Members of minority communities, judges, lawyers, intellectuals, cultural figures, journalists, professionals, workers, rickshaw pullers and farmers have been attacked, arrested or accused in murder cases.

No one who stands for the spirit of the Liberation War is safe.

Symbols and memorials of our Liberation War have been destroyed. Freedom fighters have been humiliated with shoes.

The historic residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32, has been attacked and demolished in phases.

This is not random violence.

This is an attempt to erase the spirit of the Liberation War from Bangladesh.

Muhammad Yunus himself spoke of pressing a “reset button” to wipe away the country’s previous history.

They want to erase the Liberation War. They want to erase Bangabandhu. They want to rewrite Bangladesh against the foundation on which it was born.

Convicted war criminals have been released, and militants and top terrorists have been freed.

Economic and security conditions

Even after a stage-managed election brought them to power, the situation did not change.

Bangladesh remains in the grip of fear, terror, occupation, economic hardship and insecurity.

Now look at the condition of the country.

The progress we built has been destroyed, and ordinary people are paying the price.

According to the figures presented:

• Gross domestic product growth has fallen to 2.22%, compared with 6.80% during the Awami League government.
• Industrial production has fallen sharply.
• For the first time in 54 years, the industrial sector has faced negative growth.
• Defaulted loans in the banking sector have reportedly risen from 13% to 47%.
• Poverty has increased from 18.60% to 46.8%.
• Investment has turned negative.
• Job creation has collapsed.
• More than 20 million people have newly fallen into unemployment.
• More than 500 industrial factories have closed.
• More than half of industrialists and business owners are either in prison or forced into hiding.
• The government is borrowing 700 crore to 900 crore taka from banks every day.
• Project costs have increased by 50% to 250%.

At the same time, militancy is rising.

Children are facing torture, rape and humiliation, and ordinary people no longer feel secure in their own lives.

Extortion, murder and kidnapping have become regular features of daily life.

These are not just numbers or isolated incidents.

Behind them is a family, a worker, a farmer, a small business owner, a mother who cannot buy food for her children and young people who no longer see hope.

Bangladesh’s achievements under the Awami League

But let me also remind you what Bangladesh had achieved.

The welfare of the people has always been the purpose of my politics.

My father, the Father of the Nation, gave his life for this ideal, and I have carried this ideal with full commitment.

During my five terms as prime minister, we used long-term planning, sound financial management and disciplined implementation to place Bangladesh on a strong foundation.

After 2008, across 16 years and consecutive terms, we implemented major projects such as:

• Padma Bridge
• Metro Rail
• Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant
• Matarbari deep-sea port
• Karnaphuli tunnel
• Bangabandhu Satellite

We maintained gross domestic product growth between 6.5% and 7.5%.

Our development projects were not vanity projects. They were part of building national capacity.

Our social programs were not charity. They were investments in human dignity.

We made Bangladesh stand tall. We made it known as the rising tiger of Asia.

Appeal to the international community

Bangladesh’s crisis is not only a domestic crisis.

It affects regional peace, security, trade, development and human dignity.

That is why I call upon the international community and all friends of Bangladesh to stand with the people of Bangladesh in their struggle for democracy, justice and peace.

A stable Bangladesh matters for South Asia, the Bay of Bengal, development partners and all countries that believe in democracy, the rule of law and justice.

The next decade can be a decade of recovery and renewal, but only if democracy is restored and the people are allowed to decide their own future.

Democratic demands

That is why I make these demands clearly:

1. The ban on the Awami League must be lifted.
2. Political prisoners must be released.
3. False cases must be dropped.
4. Freedom of speech must be restored.
5. Media freedom must be protected.
6. Judicial independence must be guaranteed.
7. Law enforcement agencies must serve the people, not those who use power for defense.

These are not demands for one party only.

These are necessary steps to save Bangladesh.

Pledge to return

Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people.

I cannot stay away while my beloved country is suffering.

I know I may be detained in prison. They may try to enforce verdicts issued in fabricated cases.

But fear cannot decide my duty to the people.

My life moved beyond calculations of personal safety long ago.

In 1971, I was imprisoned with my mother. My son Joy was born in captivity.

In 1975, I lost my family. I spent six years in exile.

After returning home, I fought against military rulers, dictatorship and political conspiracies.

There were 19 assassination attempts against me. Even the grenade attack of Aug. 21, 2004, could not stop me.

Therefore, I am not worried about my own future. I am worried about the future of Bangladesh.

Purpose of returning

I want to return because the people deserve security, development, prosperity and peace.

They deserve a state that protects them, an economy that gives them opportunity and a democracy that gives them rights.

My return, and the return of the Awami League to the democratic process, is not about power.

It is about putting Bangladesh back on the right track.

It is about reviving the country’s path of development, progress, secularism and stability.

I want to return to Bangladesh for one purpose: to stand beside the people and help improve their lives.

The people are the source of all power.

I believe in them. I trust them. I love them, and I will return to them.

Joy Bangla. Joy Bangabandhu.

Thank you very much for listening to me and giving me so much time.

Thank you.”