DHAKA: Bangladesh has asked India to stop ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from making “false and fabricated” comments while she is in the country, its foreign ministry said.
Hasina fled to India in August following violent protests that killed more than 1,000 people.
In an online address on Wednesday, she called on her supporters to stand against the interim government in Bangladesh, accusing it of seizing power unconstitutionally.
Thousands of protesters trying to disrupt Hasina’s address had demolished and set fire to the home of Mujibur Rahman, her father and Bangladesh’s founding leader. The violence continued after Hasina spoke.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry handed over a protest note to India’s acting high commissioner in Dhaka, conveying “deep concern, disappointment and serious reservation” over her comments, it said on its Facebook page.
“The ministry ... requested ... India to immediately take appropriate measures, in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding, to stop her from making such false, fabricated and incendiary statements,” it said.
Hasina could not be contacted for comment.
Although India did not comment on the communication from Bangladesh, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned the destruction of Rahman’s home as an “act of vandalism.”
“All those who value the freedom struggle that nurtured Bangla identity and pride are aware of the importance of this residence for the national consciousness of Bangladesh,” he said.
It was in the same house that Rahman declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, and he and most of his family were assassinated within its walls in 1975.
Hasina transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father’s legacy.
The interim government’s chief adviser, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, appealed to people on Friday to restore law and order and ensure there were no more attacks on properties linked to Hasina’s family or politicians from her Awami League party.
“Any attacks to their properties gives them an excuse to draw international attention to themselves and dish out their fabricated stories ... Any deterioration of law and order will give a wrong message to the world,” he said.
Bangladesh has been grappling with political strife since Hasina was ousted, with the interim government struggling to maintain law and order amid continuing unrest.
India and Bangladesh, which share a 4,000 kilometer (2,500 miles) border, have longstanding cultural and business ties.
India also played a key role in the 1971 war with Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh asks India to stop former PM Hasina from making ‘false statements’
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Bangladesh asks India to stop former PM Hasina from making ‘false statements’
- Hasina, who fled to India last year after losing power, accused rivals of taking over unconstitutionally
- People targeted her late father’s residence as she spoke, making India call it an ‘act of vandalism’
Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers
- Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops
- The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities
HAVANA: Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation’s north coast.
The island’s interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”
Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the US who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.
“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”
Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.
Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island’s economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a US military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
