Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina criticized the United States government for resorting to force against pro-Palestinian protests erupting across campuses in the country. She also questioned whether human rights exist in the US.
“University students and teachers are protesting in the US against the genocide in Palestine. During the protest, police forcibly detained a female professor. The protestors were unarmed and did not attack the police, but the way the police treated them raises questions about human rights in that country,” said Hasina.
The PM made these remarks while delivering the inaugural speech at the Central Working Committee meeting of the Awami League on Tuesday evening at Ganabhaban.
Hasina said: “Is there any freedom of speech there? Our question is, do people have the right to protest against injustice? They prepare human rights reports on Bangladesh but do not look at their own reflection in the mirror. This is the reality.”
“Our police do not behave like their police. Our police were beaten up by a BNP man while showing patience. What would they do if someone beat a police officer in the US today?” she added.
Referring to the recent deaths of Bangladeshis in the US, she said: “Recently, two Bangladeshis were brutally killed there. We protest against it. They went there to earn a livelihood. Why should they be killed?”
“Even small children are not spared at their hands. What will be the response of those who always raise the issue of human rights in Bangladesh? I want that answer. Why should my people die? We want answers for the killing of small children and the detention of the woman professor. It is a blatant violation of human rights. We demand an answer from the US authority,” the premier said.
The PM also praised the role of the Bangladesh police and said: “Our police have shown mercy and tolerance during times of violence, as we have observed several times. But recently, we have seen what happened in the US against the protestors!”
