Iran’s interim foreign minister says Tehran has been pursuing multilateralism in its foreign policy and managed to become a “strategic partner” in the BRICS group of emerging economies and an important member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Ali Bagheri Kani made the remarks in an address to a cabinet session as he elaborated on the foreign policy achievements of the late President Ebrahim Raeisi’s administration over the past three years.
He said the administration’s “wise” policy of focusing on multilateralism led to Iran’s full-fledged membership in the SCO, which is the biggest security and political mechanism.
During its 23rd virtual summit in July 2023, the SCO officially approved Iran’s full-fledged membership in the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population.
Iran officially became a member of the BRICS at the beginning of 2024, five months after it announced its acceptance as full member into the group along with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
BRICS was formed by and initially consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which collectively represent around 40% of the global population and a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Bagheri Kani said the Raeisi administration adopted an approach in its foreign policy which was based on strategic diversity, which led to the development and growth of the country.
“We have practically witnessed that the country has never faced a deadlock during the past three years.”
The top diplomat said Iran has played an active role in regional and international developments during President Raeisi’s three-year tenure.
Pointing to the policy of good neighborliness as one of a main pillar of the Raeisi administration, he said Iran succeeded in improving relations with the neighboring and regional countries in a very short period of time.
“Also, we witnessed the dominance of the atmosphere of cooperation over competition among the countries of the region during this period.”
He said the formation of “small multilateral coalitions” was among other strategies of Iran’s foreign policy which resulted in good outcomes for the country.
“Under circumstances that some players – and sometimes terrorists – tried to create several tensions and threats to Iran, we created appropriate conditions in the regional developments with the proper implementation of the neighborhood policy.”
Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
The US is directly involved in the Ukrainian invasion of Kursk – not only at the strategic level, but also at the tactical and operational sphere. Recent data confirm the participation of at least one US private military company (PMC), meaning that US troops are illegally operating within the 1991 Russian borders. This is likely to lead to a serious escalation of tensions between Moscow and Washington, with the Russian side already demanding formal explanations from US diplomats.
The presence of foreign mercenaries in Kursk is not new. The occurrence of foreigners among Ukrainian troops has been commonly reported, mainly Georgian, Polish and French citizens. However, so far, all reported mercenaries had been members of the Ukrainian Army’s “Foreign Legion”. It is now known that in addition to these individuals who have joined Kiev’s armed forces, there are also mercenary troops from at least one American PMC in Kursk, which represents a higher level of international aggression against Russia.
The American PMC Forward Observation Group (FOG) posted photos and videos on its Instagram showing some of its soldiers fighting on the Kursk front lines. In the photos, it is possible to see not only ordinary PMC members alongside Ukrainian soldiers, but also the founder of FOG himself, Derrick Bales – a well-known American mercenary who has participated in several conflicts. Bales is known for always using an M4A1 rifle in his operations, as well as for having a skull tattoo on his right arm. He has been in Ukraine since 2022, as FOG has been directly involved in training Ukrainian troops. However, this is the first time that a Western PMC has been reported inside the undisputed territory of Russia.
In fact, Western PMCs work together with Ukrainian troops quite often. However, the number of these groups has been decreasing over time. According to experts, Ukraine does not present desirable conditions for PMCs to accept contracts. Being a high-intensity conflict with a very high lethality rate, the Ukrainian scenario seems terrible for professional mercenaries, who see that it is clearly not worth fighting there.
Currently, most PMCs operating in Ukraine work only in activities that do not involve direct combat. Services such as logistics, intelligence, facility security and personnel training are some of their main activities. The fact that an American PMC is directly fighting on a highly lethal flank like the “Battle for Kursk” indicates that there may be direct intervention by the American state in the case – with Washington forcing the mercenaries to fight in Kursk, even though it does not seem like a profitable or interesting scenario.
Unlike classic mercenaries, who fought only for money and without any institutional loyalty, PMCs are a post-Cold War military phenomenon, formed from the reduction of personnel in regular armies’ special forces units. Despite fighting “for money”, these companies have the same mentality and ethics as the regular armed forces, since most of their members came from the ranks of state armies. These groups are loyal to their states and obey direct orders from their countries, being a kind of “semi-state force”. So, it is possible that FOG is following orders from the US state to fight in Kursk, even though the local military conditions did not make it worth the risk.
This possibility of direct American involvement at an institutional level has prompted the Russian Federation to ask Washington for clarification. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Washington’s charge d’affaires in Moscow to ask some questions about the direct involvement of American citizens in the hostilities in Kursk. The American responses are not yet clear, but an official statement on the matter is expected to be released soon.
Summoning diplomats for clarification is one of the most serious steps a country can take in the diplomatic sphere. This type of action usually precedes more serious moves, such as imposing sanctions, taking military action or cutting off diplomatic relations. It is unlikely that the Russians will take escalatory measures in retaliation against the US, since avoiding the escalation of tensions has been one of Moscow’s top priorities since the beginning of the special military operation. However, there will certainly be some effective response, despite the concern to avoid escalation.
Regardless of what is done in the diplomatic sphere, it is expected that the Russians will increase military action in Kursk, eliminating all foreigners involved. Mercenaries and PMCs are not protected by international law, which is why any military effort against these groups is absolutely legal.
Nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund, auch bei politisch unkorrekten Statistiken: Bundespolizeipräsident Dieter Romann (Foto:Imago)
Vorgestern musste Innenministerin Nancy Faeser wieder einmal eine Statistik präsentieren, die die völlige Bankrotterklärung für ihre Politik war und in jedem funktionierenden Land zu ihrem Rücktritt oder ihrer Entlassung geführt hätte. Aus dem Jahresbericht der Bundespolizei für 2023 geht hervor, dass es im Vorjahr 127.549 illegale Einreisen gab – ein Anstieg um rund 40 Prozent im Vergleich zum Vorjahr und der höchste Wert seit 2016. Die Migranten kommen buchstäblich von allen Seiten über die sperrangelweit offenen Grenzen: Aus Polen, Tschechien, Österreich und der Schweiz. Die Ampel-Regierung und Faeser schauen dem tatenlos zu. Als Folge wurden 790.245 Straftaten registriert, 12,5 Prozent mehr als 2022. Sexualdelikte steigen um rund 15 Prozent, Taschendiebstählen um 16,4 Prozent und Gewaltdelikte um 10,6 Prozent. Bahnhöfe und der gesamte öffentliche Raum sind zu einem einzigen Hochrisikogebiet geworden.
Wenigstens ein hoher Spitzenbeamter aus Faesers Zuständigkeitsbereich traut sich, Tacheles zu reden: Dieter Romann, der Präsident der Bundespolizei, nannte die Wahrheit beim Namen. „Nichtdeutsche greifen sechsmal häufiger zum Messer bei einem Angriff als deutsche Staatsangehörige”, referierte er sachlich und ungerührt, und ergänzte: „Nichtdeutsche begehen siebenmal häufiger Sexualdelikte als deutsche Staatsangehörige“. Beides sagte er in Anwesenheit Faesers. Der fiel zu alledem nichts anderes ein als die Phrase: „Das ist wirklich eine bittere Bilanz, und das verurteile ich sehr“. Außerdem kündigte sie blutleer an, den Etat der Bundespolizei in den nächsten beiden Jahren auf 310 beziehungsweise 312 Millionen Euro erhöhen und 1.000 neue Stellen schaffen zu wollen.
Politik des “schädlichen Nichts”
Anstatt also die Massenmigration endlich zu reduzieren, die die Hauptursache für diese Kriminalitätsexplosion ist, sorgt sie lieber für mehr Polizisten, die den Kopf für ihre verbrecherische Missachtung ihrer Amtspflichten hinhalten sollen, bläht damit Personalhaushalt und öffentlichen Dienst noch weiter auf, ohne im Polizeibereich dadurch tatsächlich für mehr Sicherheit zu sorgen, und verweigert ansonsten weiterhin einen effizienten Grenzschutz. Diese Politik des “schädlichen Nichts” ist für die Ampel ganz typisch.
Romann indes dürfte Faeser ohnehin ein Dorn im Auge sein: Als ein Iraker 2018 die 14-jährige Susanna Feldmann aus Wiesbaden vergewaltigt und ermordet hatte, flog er 2018 persönlich in den Irak, um den mitsamt seiner Sippe geflohenen Täter nach Deutschland zurückzuholen. Tatsächlich wurde dieser dann zu lebenslanger Haft mit anschließender Sicherungsverwahrung verurteilt. Zum Dank für seinen Einsatz wurde dann – wie im Shithole Deutschland damals, unter der für den Migrationsirrsinn hauptverantwortlichen Angela Merkel, generell üblich – erst einmal gegen Romann wegen Freiheitsberaubung ermittelt, wenn auch glücklicherweise erfolglos. Die Symbolik dahinter ließ jedoch tief blicken und unterstreicht die unfassbaren Zustände in einem Land, wo nichts, aber auch gar nichts mehr stimmt, wo jedes Normalempfinden und jede Moral Kopf stehen.
Thus, NATO needs to continue disseminating blatant lies about the ability of its air defense and ABM (anti-ballistic missile) systems to supposedly “shoot down” Russian hypersonic missiles. This started well over a year ago, with ludicrous claims of the alleged “downing” of 9-S-7760 “Kinzhal” air-launched hypersonic missiles carried by the unrivaled MiG-31K/I strike fighters (and, as of recently, also Su-34 fighter-bombers). Similar claims continued even after numerous US-made “Patriot” SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems that supposedly downed the “Kinzhal” were destroyed precisely by it. The supposed “evidence” for these “feats” was so laughable that it almost instantly became a meme. Even the Russian military made a practical joke by letting the Kiev regime lie about downing six “Kinzhals” even when only two were fired.
After the NATO-backed terrorist attacks in Russia, the Kremlin also used the “Zircon”, the world’s first and only operational scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile, to target the Neo-Nazi junta’s and foreign intelligence assets that took part in planning the horrendous Crocus City Hall massacre. This was also used by the Kiev regime to disseminate propaganda about the “Zircon”. Expectedly, this too was easily debunked. However, as previously mentioned, this didn’t prevent NATO and the Neo-Nazi junta from continuing with these ludicrous claims. Their military sources just released official statistics about the performance of the Kiev regime forces against virtually all types of Russian drones, missiles and other assets, including the aforementioned hypersonic weapons. According to the published data, Moscow supposedly fired over 9,600 missiles of various types.
Nearly 2900 of these were allegedly “downed” by NATO-sourced SAM/ABM systems, meaning that their efficiency is around 30%. Although completely unsubstantiated, this figure still seems surprisingly “honest”, especially given the fact that the Neo-Nazi junta tends to go over 100% success rate when reporting on its performance against the Russian military. Interestingly enough, the exact numbers were also published, revealing numerous inconsistencies with the official data. Listed under the “missile kill efficiency” tab is the following:
“Kinzhal”: 25.23%
“Kalibr”: 49.55%
Kh-555/101: 78.06%
“Onyx”: 5.69%
“Iskander-K”: 37.62%
Kh-35: 6.67%
Kh-22: 0.55%
“Iskander-M”/KN-23: 4.31%
“Zircon”: 33.33%
“Tochka-U”: 8.82%
Kh-25/29/31/35/58/59/69: 22.17%
S-300/400: 0.63
The list is “strange”, to say the least. Apart from certain missile types (specifically the Kh-35) being listed in two separate statistics, Russian SAM systems are also presented as targets for interception, despite being air defense/ABM weapons themselves. Also, listing the S-300/400 here is very vague, to put it mildly, as it doesn’t specify which of the numerous missile types this refers to. Namely, all types from this family of SAM systems can fire a plethora of missiles designed to neutralize all sorts of targets. Putting all of them under one tab doesn’t really make sense.
However, what’s far more intriguing is the comparative “success rate” against various high-speed missiles. For instance, the claim that over a quarter of all “Kinzhals” fired by Russia (111, according to this list) have been shot down. Flying at speeds of up to 16,000 km/h, this missile is one of the fastest in the world. This alone makes it effectively impossible to intercept. However, if we add its ability to maneuver into the mix, the Kiev regime’s claim becomes all the more absurd. Nobody in the political West has a viable defense against the “Kinzhal”, let alone any of its vassals and satellite states. The same goes for the 3M22 “Zircon”, against which the Neo-Nazi junta claims a 33.33% success rate (two out of six). This missile’s maximum speed exceeds 11,000 km/h and it also has high maneuverability, meaning that it’s in no way easier to shoot down than the “Kinzhal”.
On the other hand, the Kiev regime claims that it shot down only 8.82% of the old Soviet-era “Tochka-U” missiles that aren’t only slower (around 6,500 km/h), but also have a regular ballistic trajectory that is far easier to predict and intercept. Only 6 out of 68 of these were downed, as opposed to 28 out of 111 “Kinzhals” which are decades ahead, both technologically and in terms of capabilities (nearly three times faster while also being highly maneuverable). If we add the “Iskander-M” and the KN-23 (its North Korean derivative) to the equation, it reinforces the notion of just how illogical these claims are. Namely, the Neo-Nazi junta says that it shot down 4.31% of these (56 out of 1300), even though the “Iskander-M’s” basic weapon, the 9M723 ground-based hypersonic missile, can reach a top speed of nearly 11,000 km/h, which is comparable to the “Zircon”.
Although it can maneuver, the “Iskander” is less maneuverable than the more advanced “Zircon”, which the Kiev regime allegedly “shoots down” at a rate of 33.33%, meaning that it’s nearly eight times more effective against it than the less capable “Iskander-M”. However, the illogic continues, as the claims for the much older Kh-22 (maximum speed nearly 5,700 km/h) is just 0.55% (a mere two out of 362 launched so far). The Neo-Nazi junta regularly complains about this missile, even admitting that it never shot down a single one up until recently, even though the Kh-22, albeit fantastic, is still far less capable than either the “Kinzhal” or “Zircon”. In addition, the P-800 “Onyx”, for which the Kiev regime also claimed it’s impossible to shoot down, is also listed, with an alleged shootdown rate of 5.69% (12 out of 211). The missile’s top speed is around 3,600 km/h.
Although there’s zero evidence that a single “Onyx” was ever shot down (the same goes for the Kh-22), just for the sake of argument, let’s say the statistics are on point. Namely, the “Zircon” is at least three times faster than the “Onyx”, once again showing that the Neo-Nazi junta’s numbers simply don’t add up. In addition, both missiles can be fired by virtually the same platforms and the Russian military is already augmenting them with ground-based “Zircons”. Moscow certainly wouldn’t be doing that if the “Onyx” is more capable, as the Kiev regime is claiming. There are a number of other over-the-top, completely unverifiable statistics on the list, but those would require an entirely separate analysis. Either way, it’s clear that NATO and its Neo-Nazi puppets are terrified to admit that Russian weapons are far superior and will do anything to denigrate them.
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Das unipolare Moment, das nach und nach in ganz Eurasien ausgelöscht wird, impliziert eine verzweifelte Gegenreaktion des Imperiums, indem es die Front der Farb-Revolutionen vervielfacht. Konzentrieren wir uns hier auf Süd- und Südostasien.
Von Pepe Escobar 20. August 2024 – übernommen von sputnikglobe.com
Im Interview mit dem Weser Kurier kommt Scholz aus dem Eigenlob kaum mehr heraus: unter seiner „Führung“ habe die Ampel Migration eingedämmt und Krisen „gut“ bewältigt. Deshalb prognostiziert er der SPD auch einen Erfolg in der nächsten Bundestagswahl „wie 2021“.
Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz beim Bürgerdialog in Bremen
Deutschland hat sich durch die Politik der Ampel „zu einem der attraktivsten Standorte“ entwickelt – zumindest behauptet das Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz im Interview mit dem Weser Kurier in Bezug auf die Pharmaindustrie. Scheinbar unbeeindruckt von der Rezession und der Welle an Insolvenzen redet er sich die deutsche Wirtschaft schön – und attestiert seiner Partei bei den nächsten Bundestagswahlen auch deshalb einen Erfolg „wie 2021“.
Laut Scholz habe man Krisen wie den Klimawandel, Corona und die Folgen des Überfalls von Russland auf die Ukraine „gut“ bewältigt. Immerhin seien die Wohnungen „warm geblieben im Winter, die Industrie musste ihre Produktion nicht einstellen und auch beim Ausbau von Solarenergie und Windkraft machen wir extreme Fortschritte“. Die Ampel würde die deutsche Volkswirtschaft „mit hohem Tempo“ modernisieren, „um künftig klimaneutral zu produzieren und unsere Infrastruktur auf Vordermann zu bringen“.
Auch die seit Monaten andauernde Haushaltskrise scheint für den Kanzler keine größere Bedeutung zu haben. In Bezug auf die Lücke von 12 Millionen in dem für 2025 geplanten Haushalt erklärt der Kanzler, dass man es wenigstens geschafft habe, die „Lücke“ von „17 Milliarden Euro“ um „fünf Milliarden verringert“ zu haben. Für Scholz sei dies „ein ganz substanzieller Schritt.“
Scholz erklärte außerdem, dass unter seiner „Führung“ die „Bundesregierung gemeinsam mit den Ländern den Kampf gegen irreguläre Migration massiv vorangebracht“ hätte. Laut Scholz gäbe es durch „Gesetzesänderungen im Bund“ bereits praktische „Veränderungen in den Ländern“. Dabei zeigen jüngste Zahlen des Bundeskriminalamts (BKA), dass die illegale Migration nach Deutschland im Jahr 2023 deutlich angestiegen ist. Laut BKA verzeichnete man im vergangenen Jahr 266.224 Tatverdächtige im Zusammenhang mit unerlaubter Einreise und illegalem Aufenthalt.
Doch Olaf Scholz gibt sich siegessicher: Er glaubt daran, dass die SPD mit ihm und seinen vermeintlichen Erfolgen in einem Jahr mehr als zehn Prozentpunkte zulegen wird – denn das würde „genauso erfolgreich sein können wie 2021“ bedeuten. Damals erreichte die SPD in der Bundestagswahl 25,7 Prozent der Stimmen. Aktuell liegt man in Umfragen nur noch bei 15,5 Prozent.
The revolution to oust a long-serving leader, who kept the Muslim majority and the Hindu minority in a peaceful coexistence, has opened a new chapter for Bangladesh society.
Hasina resigned on August 5 after weeks of violent street protests by students angry at a law which awards government civil service jobs. The protests began in June 2024 after the Supreme Court reinstated a 30% quota for descendants of the freedom fighters who won the independence for the country in 1971 after fighting against Pakistan with the help of an Indian military intervention. The students felt they were facing an unfair system and would have limited opportunity for a job based on their educational qualifications, instead of ancestry.
On July 15, Dhaka University students were protesting and calling for quota reforms, when suddenly they were attacked by individuals with sticks and clubs. Similar attacks began elsewhere and rumors circulated that it was a group affiliated with the ruling Awami League.
Some believe the group who began the violence was paid mercenaries employed by a foreign country. Street protesters who were met by a brutal crackdown were the western media description of the March 2011 uprising in Syria. However, the media failed to report that the protesters were armed and even on the first day of violence 60 Syrian police were killed. The question is in cases like Bangladesh: was this a grass-roots uprising, or a carefully staged event by outside interests?
By July 18, 32 deaths were reported, and on July 19, there were 75 deaths. The internet was shut down, and more than 300 were killed in less than 10 days, with thousands injured.
Some call the Bangladeshi uprising the ‘Gen Z revolution’, while others dub it the ‘Monsoon revolution’. But, experts are not yet united in a source of the initial violent attack on student protesters.
Hasina had won her fourth consecutive term in the January 7 elections, which the U.S. State Department called ‘not free or fair’. Regional powerhouses, India and China, rushed to congratulate the 76-year-old incumbent.
Hasina had held the peace in a country since 2009 while facing Radical Islamic threats. Targeting Bangladeshi Hindus was never the message or the intent of the student movement, according to some student activists.
The Jamaat-e-Islami has never won a parliamentary majority in Bangladesh’s 53-year history, but it has periodically allied with the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Jamaat, as the party is widely known, was banned on August 1, when Hasina blamed the two opposition parties for the deaths during the anti-quota protests.
Muhammad Yunus, a respected economist and Nobel Laureate, accepted the post of chief adviser in a transitional government until elections are held. He said he will seek to restore order as his first concern.
The Saint Martin Island is a stretch of land spreading across merely three square kilometers in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, and is the focus of the U.S. military who seek to increase their presence in Southeast Asia as a balance against China.
“If I allowed a certain country to build an airbase in Bangladesh, then I would have had no problem,” Hasina told The Daily Star newspaper.
Bangladesh was formerly East Pakistan, becoming a part of Pakistan in 1947, when British India was divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Bangladesh was founded in 1971 after winning a war of independence. On August 15, 1975, a military coup took over, and Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, was assassinated along with most of his family members.
The U.S. State Department, aided by the CIA, have a long history of political meddling in foreign countries. Examples are the 2003 ‘regime change’ invasion of Iraq, and in the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ we saw the U.S. attack Libya to overthrow the government, the U.S. support of the ‘freedom fighters’ in Syria who were Al Qaeda terrorists, and the U.S. manipulated election in Egypt which installed a Muslim Brotherhood member as President. The American Lila Jaafar received a 5 year prison sentence for her manipulation of the Egyptian election, but Hillary Clinton evacuated her from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo before she could serve her prison sentence, and she is now the Director of the Peace Corps with a White House office.
The U.S. often uses sectarian issues and strife to accomplish their goals abroad. After the Islamists in Bangladesh drove out Hasina, reports of attacks on Hindu temples and businesses circulated on mainstream Indian TV channels.
Hindus, Muslim-majority Bangladesh’s largest religious minority, comprise around 8% of the country’s nearly 170 million population. They have traditionally supported Hasina’s party, the Awami League, which put them at odds with the student rioters.
In the week after Hasina’s ouster, there were at least 200 attacks against Hindus and other religious minorities across the country, according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a minority rights group.
The police have also sustained casualties in their ranks, proving the protesters were armed as well, and went on a weeklong strike after Hasina fled to India.
Dhaka-based Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies said they believe inclusivity and plurality are important principles as Bangladesh navigates a post-Hasina era. Those exact words: inclusivity and plurality are current ‘buzz-words’ used in Washington, DC. based political and security groups.
Hasina is credited with doing a good job balancing Bangladesh’s relations with regional powers. She had a special relationship with India, but she also increased economic and defense ties with China.
In March 2023, Hasina inaugurated a $1.21 billion China-built submarine based at Bangladesh’s Cox Bazaar off the Bay of Bengal coast.
On May 28, China praised Hasina for refusing to permit a foreign air base. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “China has noted Prime Minister Hasina’s speech, which reflects the national spirit of the Bangladeshi people to be independent and not afraid of external pressure.”
Mao said some countries seek their own selfish interests, openly trade other countries’ elections, brutally interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, undermine regional security and stability, and fully expose their hegemonic, bullying nature.
China has invested over U.S.D 25 billion in various projects in Bangladesh, next highest after Pakistan in the South Asian region, who also steadily enhanced defense ties with Bangladesh supplying a host of military equipment, including battle tanks, naval frigates, missile boats besides fighter jets.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hasina had long ignored the democratic backsliding in each other’s countries to forge close ties, and bilateral trade increased with Indian corporations striking major deals
“I also congratulate the people of Bangladesh for the successful conduct of elections. We are committed to further strengthen our enduring and people-centric partnership with Bangladesh,” Modi said in a post on X in January.
Mainstream Indian news outlets, which often serve as mouthpieces for Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, have been focused on a Bangladeshi Islamist party. “What is Jamaat-e-Islami? The Pakistan-backed political party that brought down Sheikh Hasina’s govt,” read one headline. “Jamaat may take control in Bangladesh,” read another, quoting a senior member of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Some critics claimed India “covertly” helped Hasina win the election, while others said New Delhi used its influence to tone down U.S. and European criticisms of the Bangladeshi vote.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP party came to power in 2014, and Modi’s commitment to a Hindu rashtra, or Hindu nation, while turning its back on secularism has undermined a core Indian foreign policy principle.
In 2019, the Modi government passed controversial citizenship laws that were criticized as anti-Muslim. The BJP’s strident anti-migrant rhetoric sees hardline party members often railing against Muslim “infiltrators” with Indian Home Minister Amit Shah infamously calling Bangladeshi migrants “termites” during an election rally in West Bengal.
The revolution to oust a long-serving leader, who kept the Muslim majority and the Hindu minority in a peaceful coexistence, has opened a new chapter for Bangladesh society. Will this prove to be a destabilizing period in which the Islamic party, Jamaat, holds sway over the society? Will the secular history of Bangladesh be forgotten? The final question will be, when will the new U.S. military base be opened on Saint Martin Island?
Der Friedensstifter 
