The White House refuted claims of U.S. involvement in the removal of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who recently stepped down and fled the country, labeling the accusations as completely false.
“We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumors that the United States government was involved in these events are simply false,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing when asked about reported claims of U.S. involvement.
“This is a choice for and by the Bangladeshi people. We believe that the Bangladeshi people should determine the future of the Bangladeshi government, and that’s where we stand.” the White House added.
A report in the Economic Times newspaper in India on Sunday cited Hasina as accusing the U.S. of playing a role in ousting her because it wanted control over Bangladesh’s Saint Martin island in the Bay of Bengal. The newspaper said Hasina had conveyed that message through her close associates.
Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed posted on X social media Sunday that she never made any such statement.
An interim government in Bangladesh, led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in on Thursday to hold elections in the South Asian nation.
Bangladesh was engulfed by demonstrations and violence after student protests last month against quotas that reserved a high portion of government jobs for certain groups escalated into a campaign to oust Hasina.
She won a fourth straight term in January in an election the opposition boycotted and the U.S. State Department said was not free and fair.
Hasina went to New Delhi after leaving Bangladesh, ending her uninterrupted rule of 15 years.
