Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has reacted for the first time after the fall of her government. He has held America responsible for creating a civil war-like situation in his country. In a message sent to the media through her close aides, Hasina has alleged that she had to be ousted from power because she did not hand over St. Martin Island to America. He has said, ‘I resigned so that I don’t have to see a pile of dead bodies. I could have remained in power if I had surrendered the sovereignty of the island of St. Martin to America. Now the question arises that why is America after a small island located in the remote Bay of Bengal and what benefit will it get by acquiring it?
Actually, St. Martin’s Island is a small (only 3 km²) island in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Peninsula, and forms the southernmost tip of Bangladesh. . Thousands of years ago, the island was an extended part of the Teknaf Peninsula. Part of the Teknaf Peninsula was later submerged and its southernmost part was thus separated from mainland Bangladesh and became an island. This island was first settled by Arab traders in the 18th century. He named it ‘Jazeera’.
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During the British rule, this island was named St. Martin’s Island after the then Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong. Local people call this island ‘Narikel Jinjira’ in Bengali language, which means ‘Coconut Island’ in English. This is the only coral island of Bangladesh. America wants to capture the 9 kilometer long and 1.2 kilometer wide island so that it can build an air base here, which will enable it to establish its dominance in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. The island of St. Martin is important for many reasons including biodiversity, environment, fisheries, tourism. This region also has great importance in geo-politics.
St. Martin Island has strategic importance
The geographical location of St. Martin is such that it can be easily reached by sea from anywhere in the world. Therefore it is an important waterway. From a strategic point of view, the Bay of Bengal and the entire surrounding sea area can be monitored from St. Martin Island. From this point of view, St. Martin is very important for Bangladesh. At the same time, South Asia ensures that the balance of power is maintained in geo-politics. The Bay of Bengal is acting as a bridge between South and South East Asia. As a result, this region is very convenient for establishing relations with countries in geo-politics through trade routes.
In case of a sudden war, it will be easy to establish contact with this area. That’s why powerful countries are looking towards the island of St. Martin. For these commercial and strategic reasons, China and America want to establish their dominance here. And since India itself is a country located near the Bay of Bengal, St. Martin Island also has great strategic importance for it in safeguarding its interests. The reason for America’s interest is that if it captures this island, it can control the entire region from here, which also includes China and India.
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If we understand in simple language, China and India are the two most powerful countries of the Asian continent. Both have great importance in the world economically and commercially, and the influence of these countries is going to increase further in the coming times. America would like to control both China and India to keep itself the power center of the world. For this work he needs a place in this region, where he can set up his setup. That is why he has his eyes on St. Martin Island of Bangladesh. Experts in geo-politics have been saying that many western countries including America and Britain are plotting to create a Christian state by taking over Bangladesh, Myanmar and even parts of India.
Hasina had revealed a big conspiracy
Sheikh Hasina had also said some time ago that a conspiracy was going on to create ‘a Christian country like East Timor’ by taking some part of Bangladesh and Myanmar. However, he avoided taking the name of India. He had also said that a White man (Englishman) had offered him to win the Bangladesh general elections held on January 7 this year without any problem, provided he allows any foreign country to set up its air strip in Bangladesh territory. Allow install. Here again, the Bangladesh Prime Minister did not mention the ‘white man’ or his country.
Then Sheikh Hasina had said without naming St. Martin Island, ‘Since ancient times, trade activities have been taking place through the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Many people have their eyes on this place. There is no dispute and conflict here. I will not let this happen. And this is also one of my crimes. Now some Awami League leaders close to Hasina have also held America responsible for the change of power in Dhaka. He has alleged that American diplomats were pressurizing Sheikh Hasina to take initiative against China. Awami League leaders have accused US Ambassador Peter Haas, who completed his tenure in July, of favoring the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
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There are about 3700 inhabitants on the island of Saint Martin.
The Saint Martin Union Council looks after the administrative work on the island. There are 9 villages/areas in it. The island’s approximately 3,700 residents earn their living mainly by selling fish. The main crops here are rice and coconut. Between October and April, fishermen from neighboring areas bring their catch to the island’s floating wholesale market. However, other food items are imported from Bangladesh and Myanmar. The center and south of the island consist mainly of farms and temporary huts, with most permanent structures built in the northern part. Due to dangerous conditions during the rainy season in the Bay of Bengal, the island of St. Martin is cut off from the mainland (Teknaf). The residents here have no option of going to Teknaf.
The island depends on solar energy for electricity
The only way to reach St. Martin Island is by sea. Boats and ferries (mostly for tourists) run from Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf. It is the southernmost part of Bangladesh, located on the Bay of Bengal, 120 km from Cox’s Bazar city. There has been no electricity supply from Bangladesh National Grid to St. Martin Island since the 1991 typhoon. Most of the hotels run the generator till 11 pm, because after that it is not allowed to run the generator. Hence the reliance on solar energy, which is popular throughout the island. Motor vans or cars do not operate on the island. Like West Bengal and Bangladesh, hand rickshaws are prevalent here too. There are roads made of concrete on the island.