How America Perpetrates Its Coups Now: THE BANGLADESH COUP
Ever since1984 (after the CIA had become too well-known for setting up coups), America’s coup-machine has been the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), not the CIA. The U.S. coup that seized control over Bangladesh in August this year is a typical example:
The U.S. regime wanted to place an air-force base on a particular Bangladeshi island, because that location for such a base would endanger China’s national security and weaken China’s ability to protect itself from a U.S. invasion.
On 28 May 2024, the Indian Express headlined “China praises Bangladesh PM Hasina for refusing to permit foreign air base”, and reported:
China on Tuesday praised Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her decision to deny permission for a foreign military base, commending it as a reflection of the Bangladeshi people's strong national spirit and commitment to independence.
Without naming any country, Hasina, 76, on Sunday said that she was offered a hassle-free re-election in the January 7 polls if she allowed a foreign country to build an airbase inside Bangladeshi territory.
Hasina, ruling the strategically located South Asian nation since 2009, secured a fifth overall term in the one-sided election in January, which was boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by former prime minister Khalida Zia.
"If I allowed a certain country to build an airbase in Bangladesh, then I would have had no problem," The Daily Star Bangladesh newspaper quoted Hasina as saying.
Replying to a question on Hasina's remarks at a media briefing here, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “China has noted Prime Minister Hasina's speech, which reflects the national spirit of the Bangladeshi people to be independent and not afraid of external pressure.” Though the Bangladesh prime minister did not name the country that had made the offer to her, she emphasised that the "offer came from a White man”.
Mao said some countries seek their own selfish interests, openly trade other countries' elections, brutally interfere in other countries' internal affairs, undermine regional security and stability, and fully expose their hegemonic, bullying nature.
This U.S. coup culminated on 4 August 2024 when the democratically elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Ms. Sheikh Hasina, resigned and was flown out from a Bangladesh Air Force base into neighboring India, aboard a Bangladesh Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J military transport plane, heading to UK, which Government informed her in-flight that her asylum-request would be denied, and, since India had already told her that she could have at least temporary asylum there, she landed in India, intending it to be only temporary.
On August 5th, India’s Express News headlined “Meet General Waker-Uz-Zaman, the man in charge of Bangladesh after PM Sheikh Hasina’s resignation”, presented video of the General’s 10-hour press conference, and opened their accompanying printed news-report:
After Sheikh Hasina resigned as the prime minister of Bangladesh and fled the country on Monday, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, the Chief of Army Staff, stepped forward to announce the formation of an interim government. Addressing the nation from a podium with the world's media capturing every moment, he declared, "I'm taking all responsibility (of the country). Please cooperate."
They noted: “His career includes two tours as a UN peacekeeper,” and, “He received his education at the Bangladesh Military Academy and pursued advanced studies at the Defence Services Command and Staff College in Mirpur and the Joint Services Command and Staff College in the UK. Additionally, he holds degrees in Defence Studies from the National University of Bangladesh and King's College, University of London.”
The normal procedure for a U.S. coup is to appoint someone as a “caretaker” governmennt until a ‘legitimate’ head-of-state who is heavily dependent upon the U.S. Government can be installed.
On August 9th came this explanatory news report on whom the U.S. regime chose:
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https://x.com/BrianJBerletic/status/1821871322676527203
9 August 2024
Brian Berletic
@BrianJBerletic
Muhammad Yunus, just sworn in as head of Bangladesh gov following US-backed regime change, had begged the US to aid in changing Bangladesh's laws on his behalf in 2009, according to US diplomatic cables.
Yunus was in regular contact with the US government through the US embassy as well as trips to Washington D.C.
In 2009, he asked the US to pressure PM Sheikh Hasina to reverse a law giving the gov control over choosing the chair of his bank;
The US embassy agreed to pressure the PM & promised to "note the potential negative consequences " for the gov of refusing to reverse the law;
The same cable admits the US government supports Yunus in the context of challenging the ruling government;
Yunus was a US State Dept. Fulbright scholar, received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Congressional medal, as well has having signed at least 1 letter circulated by the National Endowment for Democracy - all as part of building him up as the head of a potential client regime;
Source: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09DHAKA469_a.html [also see this from 2007 when Yunus informed the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata of his “strong intent to plunge into the maelstrom of Bangladesh politics” — which information at that time was entirey private, unknown to the public — and, from that time forward, he sought the U.S. Government’s help to make him the leader of Bangladesh; and, now, 17 years later, the U.S. Government has delivered to him that prize].
11:29 AM · Aug 9, 2024
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On August 11th, Economic Times and India Times bannered “Sheikh Hasina alleges US role in ouster, says could've remained in power if she surrendered sovereignty of Saint Martin Island”, and reported:
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, now in India, accused the US of orchestrating her ousting over disputes regarding Saint Martin Island, which she claimed was to assert control over the Bay of Bengal. In a statement, Hasina justified her resignation to avoid further violence and urged Bangladeshi citizens not to fall prey to radical manipulation. She expressed sorrow over the ongoing violence and leadership killings in Bangladesh, reaffirming her commitment to the Awami League and her hope for the country's future. Hasina also denied inciting student protests, claiming her words were misrepresented.
Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina who is currently in India has accused the USA of ousting her from power for not handing over [control] of Saint Martin Island that would have enabled them to have “sway over the Bay of Bengal” and cautioned Bangladeshi nationals not to get manipulated by radicals.
In a message conveyed through her close associates and made available to ET Hasina said, “I resigned, so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over the dead bodies of students, but I did not allow it, I resigned from premiership. I could have remained in power if I had surrendered the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island and allowed America to hold sway over the Bay of Bengal. I beseech to the people of my land, 'Please do not be manipulated by radicals.”
“If I had remained in the country, more lives would have been lost, more resources would have been destroyed. I made the extremely difficult decision to exit. I became your leader because you chose me, you were my strength,” Hasina emphasised.
“My heart cries upon receiving news that many leaders have been killed, workers are being harassed and their homes are subjected to vandalism and arson…With the grace of almighty Allah I will return soon. Awami League has stood up again and again. I shall forever pray for the future of Bangladesh, the nation which my great father strived for. The country for which my father and family gave their lives.”
Referring to the quota movement and student protests, Hasina said, “I would like to repeat to the young students of Bangladesh. I have never called you Razakars. Rather My words were distorted to incite you. I request you to watch the full video of that day. Conspirators have taken advantage of innocence and used you to destabilise the nation.”
Hasina had to flee to Bangladesh on Monday and took refuge in India.
Before the quota movement Hasina in April had told parliament that America is pursuing a strategy of regime change in her country. “They are trying to eliminate democracy and introduce a government that will not have a democratic existence.” …
On 15 December 2023 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suddenly said at a press briefing that if Sheikh Hasina comes to power in the next election, America will use all its powers to overthrow her government. She had warned that America will create a situation like the 'Arab Spring' [another NED operation] to bring about a chaotic regime change. It may be recalled that a decade ago in the Middle East the 'Arab Spring' was initially led by university, college, school students [a common NED method].
Presumably, St. Martin Island was the land which the U.S. regime was seeking in the May 28th news-story.
On that same day, August 11th, Brian Berletic at New Eastern Outlook headlined “What’s Behind Regime Change in Bangladesh”, and he documented that participating in this U.S. coup were: the U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, NED, the BNP (main opposition Party to Hasina’s Awami League Party), Jammat-e-Islami (fundamentalist Sunni movement to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic state allied with Saudi Arabia and supporting the U.S. Government in international affairs), “Dhaka University’s political science department including Nahid Islam and Nusrat Tabassum, both of whom have their own profile on the US and European government as well as Open Society-funded Front Line Defenders database,” and who led their students to organize the crowds to overthrow Hasina. “Its department of political science in particular, from which these ‘leaders’ emerged, regularly conducts activities with Western-centric organizations and forums. The department is staffed by professors involved in US government-funded programs, including the so-called ‘Confronting Misinformation in Bangladesh (CMIB) project’. This includes professors Saima Ahmed and Dr. Kajalei Islam, who both serve as part of the project’s head team alongside US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) grantees and US State Department Fulbright scholars.” And the AP was quoted, “A key organizer of Bangladesh’s student protests said Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was their choice as head of an interim government, a day after longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned.”
Ben Norton on August 15th, did a superb hour-long video, “Exposing US gov't role in Bangladesh regime change: Why PM Sheikh Hasina was overthrown”, demonstrating how important for the U.S. regime its capture of St. Martin Island would be especially for choking off the supply of oil from the Arab nations to China, which is the world’s largest oil-importer. His video is also a comprehensive, and fully documented, history of the U.S. regime’s efforts, ever since 1975, to grab control over Bangladesh. He describes and documents how those efforts have finally succeeded.
In the immediate wake of America’s coup, the Yunus government is doing everything it can to discredit not only Hasina but her Party and her Administration. For examples, here are some recent headlines from India Times, Economic Times: “Interim govt chief Muhammad Yunus accuses Sheikh Hasina of destroying every institution of Bangladesh”, “Bangladesh interim govt revokes ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's diplomatic passport”, “Bangladesh's former textile and jute minister arrested in Dhaka”, and, “Bangladesh starts economic clean-up after Sheikh Hasina's exit”.
The empire grows, by subversion, sanctions, coups, invasions, and in any way it can, even at the same time as it might also be shrinking elsewhere when independent Governments, such as Georgia now, steel themselves against the world’s only remaining voracious, world-conquest-demanding, imperialistic power. When Barack Obama and other American leaders have claimed that “The United States is and remains the one indispensable nation”, meaning that all others are “dispensable,” this is what they are saying — that the U.S. Government’s goal is a dictatorship over the entire world. It’s the core belief of neoconservatism, and no American billionaire opposes it; all of them, both the Democrats and the Republicans, fund only politicians who are neoconservatives.
However, the closer that this Government gets to achieving its objective, the more intensely the leaders of the nations that aren’t yet its colonies (‘allies’) will resist it. That’s why we’re again heading into very violent times, perhaps even into WW3 — because of this voracious destructive force, like the Nazis were before WW2.
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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s latest book, AMERICA’S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world’s wealth by control of not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’ — duping the public.
Excellent report, Eric! Thank you.