New Delhi: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's desire to return to Dhaka and file an appeal against the death sentence awarded by the country's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is "fair" and should not be judged politically, Veena Sikri, India's former High Commissioner to Bangladesh, told IANS on Tuesday.
"I don't consider it as a political activity. She just said she wants to go back. She has been given a death sentence by something described as a kangaroo court in Bangladesh. That court is not authorised to try her. They didn't allow her to bring her own defence. So she had been tried in absentia. They gave her a defence lawyer who never did anything, who was just sitting there. So obviously, she had not been treated fairly by the judiciary in Bangladesh," said Sikri.
The former diplomat urged that there must be a "proper hearing" where Hasina must be allowed to have her own lawyer.
"It's not political. So saying that it will affect bilateral relations, I don't understand, first of all, on what basis the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government is saying it will affect bilateral relations. I would say that the BNP government itself is not interested in having good bilateral relations with India,” remarked Sikri
Highlighting the recent appointment of Dinesh Trivedi as the new High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, Sikri reflected on the ongoing political turmoil in Dhaka.
"He (Dinesh Trivedi) is a political appointee. He's a cabinet-rank person. He's almost like a special envoy of Prime Minister Modi. And when he reached there in Bangladesh, first, they tried to make a controversy about some statement that he made. Jamaat-e-Islami tried to make a big controversy and then they did not give him the appointment to present credentials. He had to wait almost three weeks, which is quite unprecedented," the former diplomat mentioned.
"It's very routine and normal for the new High Commissioner to call on the Prime Minister. And that call has still not taken place. So, our High Commissioner has not been able to talk directly to the Prime Minister. I don't think these are indications that Bangladesh wants good relations with India," Sikri added.
Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman had given assurance before elections regarding lifting the executive order banning political participation by the Awami League and that he would make the first visit to India.
"He has not kept any of his assurances. On the contrary, he went to China and agreed on projects which he knows are a security red line," Sikri stressed.
–IANS
