Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s speech in Munich calling for an end to genocide in Gaza is evidence of her strength of character.
“The premier’s participation at the Munich Security Conference in Germany was highly honourable for Bangladesh,” Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
“The meeting between Bangladesh’s prime minister and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had no impact on the historic good relations with Russia. The position of the Russian embassy in Bangladesh is very positive regarding this matter,” he added.
Replying to another question, Quader said BNP leaders’ comments on Awami League’s position in the War of Liberation are incoherent talk of madness.
Asked about the recent conflict within the Jatiya Party, the Awami League general secretary said it is an internal matter. “It will not affect the opposition’s position in parliament.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the 60th Munich Security Conference, Sheikh Hasina on Saturday (local time) said:
“Gazan people have the right to live; it is a very sad thing. So we should help them and stop this invasion and war.”
Saying that Bangladesh has sent assistance to people in the besieged enclave, Sheikh Hasina called on the world to support and help “the suffering children, women and people of Palestine.”
On Saturday, the premier in an exclusive interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, said what is happening in Gaza now is genocide, stressing that the Palestinian people have the right to live and have their own state.
“Bangladesh has always stood against genocide. What is happening in Gaza, I feel it is genocide. So we never support it,” Sheikh Hasina said.
Bangladesh has repeatedly condemned the killing of civilians, including women and children, in Palestine by Israeli forces, demanding an immediate end to the brutalities since the beginning of the conflict.
Dhaka has shown solidarity with Palestine’s people since the beginning and sent humanitarian assistance to the war-affected Gazans.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has devastated much of Gaza and forced nearly all of its inhabitants from their homes. Palestinian health authorities say 28,858 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.