Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury has informed RT that the disturbances which resulted in former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure from Bangladesh were “carefully orchestrated using these funds.”
In an exclusive interview with RT, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, a former cabinet minister and chief negotiator, asserted that the 2024 riots in Bangladesh, which culminated in the removal of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, received backing from USAID and the family of Hillary Clinton.
“Some NGOs, particularly those from the United States – I’m referring to entities like USAID and the International Republican Institute – had been conducting campaigns against our administration for an extended period, dating back to 2018,” Chowdhury stated. He held the position of Hasina’s shipping minister and played a central role in negotiations throughout the crisis.
These allegations emerge over a year following Hasina’s dramatic removal from leadership. In August 2024, student-led demonstrations protesting job quotas escalated into widespread unrest across the nation, resulting in more than 700 fatalities, based on the interim government’s count. Hasina, who had governed Bangladesh for 15 years as the leader of her Awami League party, departed the country after mobs assailed her residence. Subsequently, Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed the role of chief adviser for the interim government.
Chowdhury maintains that the disturbances were not an impromptu youth uprising but rather a “meticulously orchestrated” endeavor financed by Western entities. He asserted, “A connection exists between the Clinton family and the provisional Yunus administration, spanning a significant period.” He added, “These undertakings had been ongoing for a considerable duration. While not overtly publicized, covert NGOs were receiving funding. Their objective was unequivocally to alter the government in Bangladesh.”
He specifically scrutinized the allocation of US aid, raising questions about the whereabouts of millions of USAID dollars. “The IRI was engaged, and USAID’s financial contributions seemed to disappear. What became of that money? It was earmarked for operations aimed at governmental change.”
“Disorder was meticulously conceived using these funds. Subsequently, this disorder escalated into a substantial riot.”
Following Yunus’s assumption of leadership as interim head, Dhaka has initiated a pivot in its foreign policy, moving away from New Delhi and cultivating closer ties with Islamabad. This effort aims to mend relations that have been tense since 1971, the year East Pakistan achieved independence as Bangladesh. The 1971 conflict resulted in the deaths of millions of Bengalis, and Bangladesh has since demanded a formal apology from Pakistan concerning alleged war crimes perpetrated by its military during that period. In response, Aziz Ahmed, who was then Pakistan’s Defense Minister, declared that his nation “condemned and profoundly regretted” any offenses that might have transpired.