Al Jazeera Discovers Hasina's Victims Want Justice, Not Just Another Dictator
Al Jazeera brings us the grim reality from Bangladesh: families who lost loved ones in the 2024 protests want former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina "brought back, hanged." This righteous anger follows a verdict against her, a rare ray of accountability. Yet, the story often omits the broader geopolitical context. Hasina's Awami League government, despite documented human rights abuses and democratic
backsliding, enjoyed a rather quiet approval from Western powers, especially as a counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific. (See: U.S. State Department statements routinely prioritizing 'stability' over democratic principles in the region). Governments like hers, which consistently suppress dissent and rig elections, frequently operate in geopolitical blind spots. The outrage over civilian
deaths is only spotlighted when regimes fall *out* of favor. Otherwise, the 'stability' narrative conveniently overrides the cries of the brutalized. One wonders if the families' desperate call for justice would have garnered as much airtime had Hasina still been the West's preferred strongwoman in Dhaka.