Awami League open to talks with Tarique, says Joy

As Tarique Rahman prepares to lead a BNP government with a two-thirds majority, Sajeeb Wazed Joy says the Awami League would be willing to engage with him despite branding the Feb 12 election a “complete sham”.

In an interview with British broadcaster ITV, the son of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina signalled openness to dialogue with the BNP leader and said: “If he becomes prime minister -- I mean, it is a sham election -- but yes, if he becomes prime minister, then yes, of course, we will talk to him and deal with him.”

The Feb 12 vote resulted in a sweeping victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which secured 209 of 299 seats -- enough for a two-thirds majority in parliament -- while Jamaat-e-Islami emerged as the main opposition with 68 seats. The Awami League was barred from contesting.

Pressed further on whether he would personally work with Tarique, who is expected to become the next prime minister, Joy said he had “no interest in working in Bangladeshi politics whatsoeve”.

However, when asked whether he would be open to discussions aimed at improving relations between the two camps, he responded: “I am always open to it. I’m not a person who -- I’m a person who always believes in having a conversation, no matter how difficult or with whom. That is my strategy. That has always been my strategy in life.”

Joy also drew attention to what he described as inconsistencies in the treatment of convictions under successive governments.

Referring to past corruption cases against Tarique, many of which have since been overturned, he said: “You look at what’s happened, you look at Tarique Rahman -- he was convicted on evidence by the FBI. Now he’s likely to be prime minister. So these things don’t last forever.”

Asked whether he would make a plea to Tarique to dismiss charges against his own family if the BNP leader assumes office, Joy said the matter was not his to decide.

“That is not up to me. I don’t live in the country. That is really up to the party. They will decide what they want to do,” he said.

“The BNP is the other large party in Bangladesh. Of course, we should talk to them; I’ve always said that. The BNP should never have boycotted the elections.”

'COMPLETE SHAM'

Although he acknowledged the BNP’s electoral position, Joy rejected the legitimacy of the vote outright.

“[Thursday’s] election was a complete sham,” he said.

“You’ve had the largest party and all progressive parties barred from elections. You’ve had, essentially, a stage-managed election.”

He argued that banning the Awami League invalidated the process.

“How can you call an election where one of the two major political parties in the country are banned? … You cannot call that a free and fair election in any way.”

Calling the move “unprecedented”, he added: “It’s unprecedented, where a political party has been banned by a dictat from an unelected regime.”

He warned that the situation was unsustainable.

“This is not going to be sustainable. This is going to lead to more instability in the future.”

JAMAAT BAN UNDER AL 'FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT'

When challenged by interviewer Mahatir Pasha that Jamaat-e-Islami had been barred from elections during the Awami League's rule, Joy rejected the comparisons.

“No, because they were banned because of a court ruling,” he said. “They were banned from participating because of a court ruling from an independent group, not from the government.”

He referred to the High Court verdict that declared Jamaat’s registration illegal, arguing that the issue lay in Jamaat’s constitution.

“The court ruled that Jamaat’s constitution, which recognises Shariah law above the Constitution of Bangladesh, conflicted with our Constitution. All Jamaat had to do was change their constitution and they could run again. There was no ban from the government on them.”

RIGGING ALLEGATIONS UNDER AL

The interviewer pressed Joy on whether his party had the moral standing to criticise elections, citing allegations of vote-rigging in the 2014, 2018 and 2024 elections.

“That’s not exactly true,” Joy said. “The last three times, the first and the third time the opposition boycotted.”

Regarding the 2018 election, he acknowledged problems but insisted they did not alter the outcome.

“If you look at the opinion polls leading up to the elections, the Americans did polling, and all the polls showed that our party would have a landslide majority. It was going to be a landslide for the Awami League.”

He conceded: “Unfortunately, the administration -- some people in the administration -- still took it upon themselves to commit irregularities. Those should have been investigated, they weren’t, but overall it wouldn’t have affected the result.”

Joy also defended the Awami League government’s security response in the lead-up to the 2014 polls, which the BNP boycotted.

“In the 2014 elections, there wasn’t a crackdown until our opposition started arson attacks on public transportation,” he said.

“Hundreds of people were burned alive in buses in arson attacks by the opposition because they chose to boycott the election. Awami League never banned anybody.”

SCEPTICAL OF OBSERVER ASSESSMENTS

The Election Commission said hundreds of international observers and foreign journalists monitored the Feb 12 polls. Asked if he would accept their verdict if they declared the election free and fair, Joy was dismissive of the process.

“You cannot accept -- I mean, again, you have a limited number of foreign observers in the country who are escorted by the regime,” he said.

“These foreign observers are not allowed to travel freely in the country, and frankly, it’s not even safe; the law and order situation is that bad. So, how much have these foreign observers really been allowed to observe?”

However, he added: “I will reserve my judgment until they make their statements.”

Returning to his central argument, he said: “If you’ve banned either the Democrats or the Republicans in the US, can you in any way call that election free and fair?”

'WITHOUT A DOUBT' MISTAKES WERE MADE

The conversation turned to the July–August 2024 student-led protests, which began over quota reforms and later escalated into a broader uprising that toppled the Awami League government on Aug 5.

Asked whether failings under his mother’s leadership contributed to her fall, Joy said: “Yes, without a doubt.”

“The protest started peacefully. They had a legitimate demand.

He argued that quotas had been reduced by the government in 2018 and later reinstated by a court ruling, which triggered renewed protests.

“Our government completely failed to communicate this; they completely failed to sit down with the student protesters,” he admitted.

But he accused Islamist groups of escalating violence.

“The Islamists, the Jamaat-e-Islami and their militant wing saw this as an opportunity to overthrow the government,” he said.

“They started the violence, and then the protest turned violent, and again, our government mishandled it; it should have never gone that far.”

DISPUTES UN FIGURE OF 1,400 DEATHS

The United Nations has estimated that around 1,400 people were killed between Jul 15 and Aug 15, 2024. Joy challenged both the figure and its attribution.

“The UN number… covers the period from the 15th of July until the 15th of August. Our government fell on the 5th of August. Yet the UN report still blames the continued killings on our government. I mean, how is that possible?” he said.

He argued that the total included police officers and Awami League activists.

“Also included in that number are police officers. There were hundreds of police officers killed, and during the protests themselves, hundreds of our activists were killed,” he said.

“We take full responsibility for the several hundred that were killed. Not 1,400, because half of those were police and our party activists.”

“Every single death is regrettable. We never wanted anyone to die.”

Asked directly whether he would apologise to families, he said: “My mother apologised to them immediately, during the protests, before our government fell. We met with them.”

He denied that Hasina had ordered lethal force against protesters.

“Lethal force was never authorised against protesters. My mother never ordered lethal force against anyone other than people attacking police, attacking other people. What else is a government supposed to do? It’s a government’s job to protect lives.”

He claimed that audio recordings suggesting otherwise were edited.

“You should listen to the full recordings… what was broadcast internationally was a little snippet taken out of context,” he said.

“In the conversation, they’re talking about militants attacking police stations. That is where lethal force was authorised.”

TULIP SIDDIQ'S RESIGNATION IN THE UK

The interview also touched on the resignation of his cousin, British MP Tulip Siddiq, who stepped down as a UK Treasury minister amid controversy linked to investigations in Bangladesh.

“She resigned to avoid embarrassment to the British government. That is the only reason,” Joy said.

He claimed British authorities had cleared her.

“The UK watchdog investigated her, they cleared her of any wrongdoings,” he said.

Asked whether it was fair that she resigned, he replied: “No, of course not. It’s not fair. I don’t think it’s fair at all.”

When asked whether the British prime minister had failed to defend her, Joy declined to comment.

“I cannot comment on British politics, unfortunately.”

'I COULD'VE BEEN PM A WHILE BACK'

The interviewer raised criticism that Bangladeshi politics has long been dominated by the families of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman.

“Is it dynastic politics because we choose to be in it, or is it because the grassroots keep voting for us in the party councils?” Joy responded.

Joy himself has been sentenced to five years in jail in Bangladesh. Asked when he might return, he noted he does not reside in the country.

“I don’t live in Bangladesh. I have spent a total of seven years of my entire life in Bangladesh. I’ve been settled in the US for over 30 years,” he said.

Asked directly whether he intended to go back, he replied: “Oh, I will go back at some point.”

However, he denied harbouring prime ministerial ambitions.

“No, I’ve never had political ambitions. If I had wanted to be prime minister of Bangladesh, I could have been prime minister a while back. My mother had been pushing me to run for elections… for over a decade.”

“I’ve never had a greed for power or money. I’m happy just to be comfortable.”

On whether reforms are on the agenda for the Awami League, he described the process as gradual.

“Reform is not a one-time process -- reform is a continuous ongoing process,” he said. “Over the last 10–15 years, we have had many younger leaders come up in the Awami League.”

HASINA'S EXILE, DEATH SENTENCE AND POSSIBLE RETURN

Hasina fled to India on Aug 5, 2024, as the mass uprising intensified and protesters converged on the capital, bringing an abrupt end to her 15-year rule.

Since then, she has been tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity linked to the violent crackdown on the July–August protests.

Hasina has remained in India under security protection, while the interim government has repeatedly sought her extradition.

Asked whether his mother would ever return to Bangladesh, Joy said he had “no doubt” she would.

“I have no doubt she will return someday,” he said.

He acknowledged, however, that the current environment makes that impossible.

“Right now, no. Not at all,” he said when asked if it was safe for her to return.

Joy expressed confidence in her safety in India and sharply criticised the legal proceedings against her in Bangladesh.

“Right now, she is in the safest place in the world that she can be,” he said. “The Indian government is providing her full security, and India has due process; the trials in Bangladesh do not anywhere near meet that standard.”

He questioned the speed and legitimacy of the judicial process that resulted in her death sentence.

“The trials against my family and my mother were completed in what, a month, month and a half?” he said, suggesting that such proceedings could not meet international standards of justice.

Despite her exile and conviction, Joy insisted that political fortunes in Bangladesh are cyclical and that the current order would not endure.

“None of this is going to last, none of this is sustainable,” he said.

He argued that the Awami League’s record in government would ultimately outweigh the circumstances of its fall.

“The one thing that is undeniable is that the 16 years of the Awami League's government, you also had the best economic development in Bangladesh’s history, the most infrastructure development, the most stability, you had the best law and order situation, and you had a complete stop to all terrorist activity,” he said.

Looking ahead, he predicted a reassessment of her legacy.

“I think within a very short time, people are going to say, well, despite all her shortcomings, the Awami League was the best government we had.”

He went further, asserting: “My mother’s time is going to be remembered in history as the best economic and security and stable time in Bangladesh’s history. I can guarantee you that.”