Recently, Sajeeb Wazed, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son stated that his mother did not make any remarks or statements prior to going to Dhaka on August 5 amid great protests. The comments after the reports that the former Prime Minister was not given with the opportunity to address the country by the army signify that she allegedly accused the United States of playing a role in the ouster.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Wazed said, "The recent resignation statement attributed to my mother published in a newspaper is completely false and fabricated. I have just confirmed with her that she did not make any statement either before or since leaving Dhaka."
Before this reports suggested that Hasina expressed that had she handed over the St. Martin's island to the United States, her government would have sustained. She mentioned this in the excerpts of her speech that went undelivered.
Now, what is gaining headlines is the fact that why would the former Prime Minister talk about the sovereignty issue of the St. Martin island amid the protests against her? Additionally, the situation also makes the whole world wonder as to what is the significance of the island with respect to the United States? Here, we try to unveil all the facts.
The location and surface area of the St. Martin Island
The St. Martin Island is situated in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal. It is a tiny coral island which is over nine kilometers south of Cox's Bazar-Teknaf, the tip of the southernmost peninsula of Bangladesh. The St. Martin stands as the only coral island of Bangladesh.
As far as the surface area of the island is concerned, the St. Martin island holds a surface area of only three square kilometers. At present, there are over 3,700 people residing on the island. These residents engage in activities such as coconut farming, fishing, seaweed harvesting, and rice cultivation. A lot of these grown materials are exported to Myanmar from the island.
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Recently, the island came into news headlines for the reason that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party allegedly planned to sell the island to the United States to create a military base in exchange for aid in winning the elections.
It is important to note, however, that claims like these were later rejected by the US State Department. It further threw light on its commitment to respecting the sovereignty of Bangladesh. It further encouraged democracy by means of free and fair elections.
The geopolitical significance of the St. Martin Island
Ever since Bangladesh came into existence in the year 1971, the St. Martin's Island has been central to the politics of the country. The island lies close to Bay of Bengal and shares maritime boundary with Myanmar. This very proximity have led to huge international interest, especially from China and the United States, in making use of the island to empower their presence in the area.
Last year, in the month of June, Sheikh Hasina alleged that the United States had wished to obtain the St. Martin's Island and create a military base in exchange for the victory of BNP in the elections. Furthermore, she claimed that the BNP would sell the island to the United States if it gets voted to power.
The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh expressed that her government would continue to remain in power despite the lease out of the Island. However, she said that she would never allow a step like this till the time she is in office.
On this, Matthew Millar, the US State Department spokesperson expressed, "We have never engaged in any conversations about taking over St Martin's Island. We value our partnership with Bangladesh. We strive to bolster our relationship by working together to promote democracy, including by supporting free and fair elections."
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