Joy admits ‘mishandling’ of student protests

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has said the Awami League (AL) government should have engaged with the student protesters from the very beginning and spoken out against the quotas much earlier, reports UNB.
The former ICT Adviser of Sheikh Hasina, in an interview with The Indian Express, also admitted that mistakes were made in handling the student protests.
"I believe our government should have spoken out against the quotas and met with the protesters from the beginning instead of leaving it to the courts," he said.
He also mentioned that the AL government filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to reduce the quotas.
"I recommended we take a public stance, stating the court made a mistake and we don't want the quotas. But our government chose not to, expecting the judicial system to handle it," said Joy, who lives in the US, in a video interview from Washington DC.
However, even as he acknowledged the mistake in hindsight, Joy added that he believes a foreign intelligence agency was behind the violent turn the protests took.
"I firmly believe that a foreign intelligence agency was involved, especially because many of the demonstrators, starting from July 15, were armed with firearms. Firearms are very difficult to obtain in Bangladesh due to our successful control of militancy over the last 15 years. The only organisation capable of smuggling firearms into the country and supplying them to demonstrators would be a foreign intelligence agency," he said.
Describing the events of the 24 hours leading up to his mother's departure from Bangladesh on August 5, Joy said even a day before the situation spiralled out of control, neither he nor his mother anticipated how rapidly it would deteriorate.
Asked what his message to India would be, he said he would urge Delhi to take a leadership role and ensure the Constitution of Bangladesh is upheld. "…especially this being on India's doorstep… I would hope India would ensure that elections are held within the constitutional timeframe of 90 days, that the mob rule is stopped and that the Awami League is allowed to campaign and reorganise,” he added.