A white man offered me smooth return to power in exchange of air base in Bay of Bengal: PM Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said a white man offered her a hassle-free reelection in the 7 January polls provided she allowed a foreign country to establish an air base in Bangladesh territory.
"The offer came from a white man," she said while delivering her introductory speech at the 14-party meeting held at her official residence Ganabhaban.
She mentioned that the BNP conspired to prevent elections from being held in Bangladesh.
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"But the BNP would have done that…" she said.
She noted that she gave the same response in 2001 when the United States offered to sell Bangladesh gas to India.
"I clearly said I am the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We won our Liberation War, and I don't want to come to power by renting part of the country or handing it over to another country. I don't need power," she said.
She emphasised that if the people want her in power, only then she would come to power.
"I am saying this because everyone should know," she added.
The prime minister said she faces challenges both at home and abroad.
"The conspiracy is still ongoing," she stated.
She mentioned that there is a conspiracy to turn Bangladesh into another East Timor.
"Like East Timor...they will create a Christian country taking a part of Bangladesh [Chattogram] and Myanmar forming a base in the Bay of Bengal," she said.
She noted that trade and commerce have been ongoing through the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean since ancient times.
"Many have their eyes on this place. There is no controversy here, no conflict. I won't let that happen. This is also one of my crimes [in their eyes]," she said.
Hasina asked which country would be targeted from the proposed air base.
"It may appear it is aimed at only one country, but it is not. I know where else they intend to go," she said.
She also said, "This is why the Awami League government is always in trouble.
"There will be more trouble. But don't worry about it. The people of the country are our strength. If the people are with us, we will stay in power," she said.
