Joy admits AL’s mishandling of student protests, wants India to ensure elections are held in 90 days

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has said that the Awami League government should have engaged with the student protesters from the very beginning and spoken out against the quotas much earlier.

The former ICT Adviser of Sheikh Hasina, in an interview with The Indian Express, also admitted that mistakes were made in handling the student protests.

“I believe our government should have spoken out against the quotas and met with the protesters from the beginning instead of leaving it to the courts,” he said.

He also mentioned that the AL government filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to reduce the quotas.

“I recommended we take a public stance, stating the court made a mistake and we don’t want the quotas. But our government chose not to, expecting the judicial system to handle it,” said Joy, who lives in the US.

However, even as he acknowledged the mistake in hindsight, Joy added that he believes a foreign intelligence agency was behind the violent turn the protests took.

“I firmly believe that a foreign intelligence agency was involved, especially because many of the demonstrators, starting from July 15, were armed with firearms. Firearms are very difficult to obtain in Bangladesh due to our successful control of militancy over the last 15 years. The only organisation capable of smuggling firearms into the country and supplying them to demonstrators would be a foreign intelligence agency,” he said.

Describing the events of the 24 hours leading up to his mother’s departure from Bangladesh on August 5, Joy said that even a day before the situation spiralled out of control, neither he nor his mother anticipated how rapidly it would deteriorate.

“She had no intention of leaving the country. She was going to resign, submit a resignation to the President, and announce it in a public statement. I believe she was drafting the statement and preparing to record an interview. Everything was planned. In fact, she was about to start recording when the special security said, ‘Ma’am, there’s no time. We have to go now’,” he said in a video interview from Washington DC.

He said Hasina was adamant on not leaving, but he convinced her to do so. “The special security force took her to a safe location inside the military air base, they had a helicopter ready for her, but she did not wish to go… that’s when my aunt (Sheikh Rehana) called me. I convinced my mother that no, for your safety you have to leave. If this mob finds you, catches up with you somewhere and there’s shooting, lots of people will die. Either you’ll get blamed or, if they catch you, they will kill you. So, your best option is to leave the country. And I’m the one who convinced her to leave,” he said.

Asked if she had plans to go elsewhere, he said, “She had to leave by helicopter, so the only destination was India, but after that, you know, it’s thanks to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s government that they responded quickly… to save her life and move her to a very secure location, so she is safe. But other than that, you know, all those questions that have been asked about her applying for asylum in various countries. Those are all rumors. They’re completely untrue. She has not applied for asylum anywhere.”

Asked what his message to India would be, he said he would urge Delhi to take a leadership role and ensure the Constitution of Bangladesh is upheld. “…especially this being on India’s doorstep… I would hope India would ensure that elections are held within the constitutional timeframe of 90 days, that the mob rule is stopped and that the Awami League is allowed to campaign and reorganise. If that is ensured, I’m still confident that we will win the election… We still remain the most popular party,” he said.