E-Paper
PM Sheikh Hasina alleges plot to carve out Christian state from Bangladesh: ‘A white man offered…’
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina claims plot to carve out Christian country in Bangladesh and Myanmar, in offer for a reelection deal.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged a conspiracy to create a Christian state similar to East Timor by partitioning parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. She claimed she was offered an easy reelection in January if she permitted a foreign nation to establish an airbase in Bangladesh, without disclosing the country's name.
"Like East Timor, they will carve out a Christian country taking parts of Bangladesh [Chattogram] and Myanmar with a base in the Bay of Bengal." Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League president, said in a meeting on Thursday, reported The Daily Star. It was the 14-party alliance's first meeting with the Awami League president after polls.
ALSO READ- Cyclone Remal: Millions without power as storm pounds India and Bangladesh
Offer came from a white man: Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina vowed to resist any attempts to disrupt regional stability and said she is determined to combat such conspiracies.
"The offer came from a white man," Sheikh Hasina said without revealing any details.
"It may appear that it is aimed at only one country, but it is not. I know where else they intend to go," she said that there will be more trouble but she is not worried about it.
"If I allowed a certain country to build an airbase in Bangladesh, then I would have had no problem."
She accused opposition opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of plotting against the election process.
ALSO READ- Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina to opposition BNP on ‘India Out’ call: ‘Burn your wives’ sarees'
Indirect reference to US?
Bangladeshi leaders have claimed that Washington has been eyeing St. Martin's Island, a small island in the southernmost part of the country.
ALSO READ- Explained: What the Bangladesh elections and PM Sheikh Hasina’s victory mean for India
In early 2023, during a press conference, Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, stated that the United States has never discussed taking control of St. Martin's Island and has no intention of doing so, Eurasian Times reported.
