Prior to issuance of a joint letter on June 12, 2023 by six MPs of the European Parliament, six more members of the United States Congress had issued a latter of June 8, 2023 to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “expressing concern about the ongoing deterioration of the human rights situation in Bangladesh as elections approach in January 2024”. Signatories to the letter are William R. Keating (D), James P. McGovern (D), Barbara Lee (D), Jim Costa (D), Dina Titus (D), and Jamie Raskin.
Earlier, six Republican members of the US Congress wrote a letter to President Joe Biden seeking “stricter individual sanctions” and banning Bangladesh law enforcement and military personnel from participating in UN peacekeeping missions”.
Sharing a copy of the letter, US Congressman Bill Keating tweeted, “I am deeply concerned with the ongoing human rights situation in Bangladesh. To ensure free & fair Bangladeshi elections 2024, I urge @SecBlinken to continue his call for accountability for human rights violations committed by Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies & officials”.
It may be mentioned here that lobbyists and activists of pro-Islamist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are continuing numerous forms of conspiracy against Bangladesh, targeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ruling Awami League, members of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies as well as judiciary. On May 24, 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a press release titled ‘Announcement of Visa Police to Promote Democratic Elections in Bangladesh’ through the website of the State Department.
Following the announcement, there has been a surge in propaganda in Bangladesh, promulgated by the political opposition in Bangladesh – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its ideological ally, Jamaat-e-Islami – citing that the visa restriction is “a result of their efforts” and is aimed at censuring the incumbent government of Bangladesh, although according to the visa policy, every individual – including opposition party members – fall under potential restriction should they jeopardize the electoral process in Bangladesh. Notably, the Jamaat-e-Islami has historically been stirring profoundly concerning anti-US sentiments in Bangladesh, and both the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have been repeatedly denounced by the US Congress for its ties to Islamic militancy, oppression of religious minorities (Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and others),, and as a threat to the democratic process in Bangladesh.
Moreover, the BNP has been exploiting the new visa policy in furthering its political agenda. It should be kindly noted that most of the Bangladeshi voters, who hail from rural areas and have limited literacy, are unable to obtain information about the new visa policy from reliable sources but depend on the mouthpieces of the main political organs as the primary source of their information. The BNP has dubbed the new visa policy as a ‘US sanction against the Bangladesh government’ and is holding it akin to the US sanctions against Russia. This has generated a wave of misinformation among the general population which risks swaying popular opinion, jeopardizing a fair democratic election in Bangladesh. Such misinformation has also encouraged BNP leaders to use highly provocative and inflammatory language, including death threats to the incumbent Prime Minister.
Furthermore, the BNP and its political ally Jamaat-e-Islami have repeatedly threatened to remove the incumbent government through means of force, which seriously threatens democracy in Bangladesh.
In the US House Resolution 160 and 1156, and in a resolution adopted by the European Parliament, the Bangladesh government was asked to “deny, disrupt, and dismantle the ability of Jamaat-e-Islami and its affiliates to continue posing an immediate and ongoing threat to secular democracy and regional stability”, and it was observed that “religious minorities were targeted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Islami Chhatra Shibir, following the 2014 general elections [which the BNP boycotted and was keen on disrupting]”. Both parliaments urged the BNP to delink with Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat-e-Islami), but with the general elections approaching, the BNP high command has instructed to strengthen its ties with the militant Jamaat-e-Islami.
But to my utter surprise, the June 8, 2023 letter signed by six members of the US Congress said that “clear and repeated statements and actions by US officials could help ensure that the Bangladeshi government complied with its human rights obligations.
“This is especially important in preparation for the upcoming elections, as there have already been mass arrests and violence against opposition parties which could tarnish the results and deepen social conflict,’ said the latter”.
These members of the US Congress welcomed the December 2021 US sanctions designation and visa restrictions on Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite force praised for its effective role in combating terrorism and militancy.
Referring to the Annual Human Rights Report 2022, it mentioned that the pro-BNP rights organization “Odhikar documented 31 extrajudicial killings, 21 enforced disappearances, 68 deaths in jail, and 183 attacks on journalists committed by various law enforcement agencies including the RAB, Detective Branch (DB), and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI)”.
Here I would like to humbly call upon the esteemed members of the US Congress in particular as well as lawmakers in the EU nations to note, leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Tarique Rahman is a convicted terrorist while he also is involved in cross-border terrorism. I believe, no sensible politician would extend their support towards a party that is headed by a convicted terrorist, while it is also a documented fact that Bangladesh Nationalist Party is notoriously hostile towards Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other religious minority groups in Bangladesh. They have been openly patronizing militancy outfits, while they support establishment of Sharia rule in the country. As the Biden administration is definitely realizing their blunder in Afghanistan, which has resulted in the country now captured by the Taliban, it is sincerely hoped, similar blunder would not be once again repeated in Bangladesh.
