Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina is a name of 'power': The Washington Post praises Bangladesh PM
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, Oct 5: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has returned to the country after visiting the United Kingdom and the United States. On September 19, she left London for New York. She was staying at a luxury hotel in Virginia during part of her visit to the United States. There, Sheikh Hasina gave an exclusive interview to the influential US media The Washington Post. Her interview was published online last Monday (October 3). Interviewer columnist Petula Dvorak showered the Prime Minister of Bangladesh with a flood of praise.
He called Sheikh Hasina a 'power' and said that apart from being the world's longest-serving female head of government, Sheikh Hasina is also a grandmother who leads a country with a larger population than Russia and has survived at least 20 assassination attempts. She celebrated her 76th birthday with his son and 16-year-old granddaughter.
Dvorak wrote, "We sat in a beautiful room with her (Sheikh Hasina) translator and chief of staff. There was a huge portrait of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president and former prime minister of Bangladesh. He was killed in 1975 along with 17 other family members. Sheikh Hasina has maintained the legacy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a total of 18 years in four terms."
Sheikh Hasina leads a complex, troubled nation. At the United Nations, she sought help for the more than 1 million Rohingya who fled violence in Myanmar and took refuge in refugee camps in Bangladesh. The Prime Minister said that life in the shelter is not good. They (Rohingyas) want to return to their homeland.
She also said that the immigration situation in her country is not like that of the United States. In response to a question, Sheikh Hasina said, America... is a huge country. There is plenty of lands, plenty of space, and plenty of job opportunities. Why should the United States be concerned about immigrants?
The Prime Minister said that Bangladesh is number eight in the world in terms of population with more than 17 crore people. We are a small country. His Chief of Staff then added, Our (Bangladesh) size is like Wisconsin (a US state).
Bangladesh has faced an international investigation into the environment of Rohingya refugee camps. At the same time, there are accusations of aggressive behaviour of the police force in the context of censorship and the strict stance of the Sheikh Hasina administration in suppressing domestic terrorism.
