Sheikh Hasina has hinted that she may not run for prime minister again after being elected for the third consecutive term.
In an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle recently after the landslide victory of her Awami League party in the Dec 30 parliamentary elections, she said she wanted to retire.
“It’s the third consecutive term and before that I was prime minister [1996-2001], so it’s my fourth term. I don’t want to continue for more [time]. I think that everybody should take a break so that we can accommodate the younger generation,” she said in response to a question from DW Editor-in-Chief Ines Pohl in Dhaka.
Asked about her plans about the rest of her tenure, Hasina said the fight against poverty will continue to be her first priority.
“Food security, housing, education, healthcare, job opportunities; these are basic needs,” she said, “Definitely, every human being wants a better life… We have to ensure that.”
The prime minister swatted away allegations that her government was hindering freedom of speech. She said she supports freedom of thought in Bangladedh and that criticism is only natural.
“The more you work, the more you will hear about more criticism,” she argued. “You should ask my people whether they are satisfied or not, what they think, whether they are getting all they need, whether I can provide them.”
DW drew her attention to the allegation brought by the BNP that she and her Awami League were stifling political discourse and trying to establish a one-party rule.
“This time the Awami League candidates have been elected in 260 constituencies [out of 300]. So, other parties are also in parliament. How can it be a one-party rule?” Hasina shot back.
“If any particular party can’t connect with the people, can’t get their trust and doesn’t get votes, then whose responsibility is this? This actually portrays their weakness,” she told DW, referring to the election debacle of the BNP and its allies.
In the interview, the Awami League’s “intimacy” with the Hifazat-e Islam, a hardline religious group, also came up. Speaking about Hifazat chief Shah Ahmed Shafi’s recent call upon parents to not send girls to schools and colleges, Hasina denied taking responsibilities of such statements.
“In this country everybody has freedom of speech. So they also have the right to spell out what they want,” she said.
About the over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, the prime minister said Bangladesh needs a mid-term plan for the thousands of Rohingya children who were born in refugee camps and for the youth who have no work.
Hasina said her government has developed an island to relocate some of the refugees from the camps.
“We have identified an island where we have created a cyclone shelter and houses. We want to take them there and give them work so that young men and women can do something and earn money,” she said.
In order to tackle the Rohingya issue, she said she wanted to maintain good diplomatic relations with Myanmar.
It is imperative that China and India lend a helping hand to solve the crisis, according to Hasina.
The European Union will also need to provide support, she said, in sending the refugees back to their country of origin.
“I think the international community, including the European Union, has some responsibilities (for repatriation). Their responsibilities should not be limited to only providing aid to Rohingya in Bangladeshi camps. In fact, the same aid can be provided in Myanmar shelters once they are taken back.”
When pressed on the issue of the death of bloggers in Bangladesh in recent years, Hasina said she supported freedom of expression “100 percent”. “In this country, everybody has freedom of speech. […] Some incidents happened but we immediately took action. We declared zero tolerance to terrorism and we will continue that.”
She also spoke about women’s rights, policies, economic growth and development, corruption, allegation of vote rigging, her days in Germany during the 1975 assassination of Bangabandhu.
She flew to Germany on Thursday to attend the Munich Security Conference on her first overseas tour after reelection.
She will also meet German Chancellor Angela Markel, who has already retired as party chief and announced not to run for the post again after the end of this term.
