PM blasts post-’75 rulers for their inaction about sea boundary

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday blasted the post-'75 rulers for their inaction about the maritime boundary, saying that Bangladesh could have established its rights in the continental shelf had they taken initiative. ‘Those who ruled the country for 21 years after the August 15 massacre in 1975 did not raise any claim about Bangladesh’s rights in the sea. Bangladesh could have established its just rights in the continental shelf had they taken initiative,’ she said. Sheikh Hasina also said Bangladesh would have lost its rights in the sea, had the Awami League government not lodged its claim with the international tribunal. Highlighting the background of Bangladesh’s maritime victory against Myanmar and India, Sheikh Hasina said it was not an easy task to win against the two neighbours by filing cases with the international court. Posing a question that why the post-’75 rulers did not take any initiatives for establishing Bangladesh’s just rights in the sea, the Prime Minister said, in fact, they had no thinking about the betterment and future of the country. ‘Their main job was to grab and enjoy power,’ she said. She said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman enacted the maritime law in 1974 to ensure Bangladesh’s just rights in the sea. ‘Even the United Nations did not frame any law to this end at that time,’ she said. The Prime Minister said Bangladesh has been able to establish its just rights in the sea by wining the cases against Myanmar and India thanks to farsightedness of Bangabandhu, according to BSS.