Days before Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya and a delegation of senior US government officials from the Department of State, including Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asia Donald Lu arrived in Bangladesh, representatives of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s mini-boss Tarique Rahman was notified that the delegation members will raise the issue of election-time caretaker government and would press the government in handing-over power 90-days before the election to this unelected entity. BNP’s men further said, they have been assured by the US authorities of working closely with Bangladesh in ensuring a free, fair and credible election. At the same time, Tarique Rahman was informed of Washington’s suggestions of participating in the upcoming election and refrain from resorting to any attempts or actions of sabotaging or disrupting the election.
Although Tarique Rahman was delighted knowing about America’s decision about caretaker government, he insisted on lifting visa embargo which was imposed on him by the US Department of State. It may be mentioned here that, the United States has imposed visa restriction on Tarique Rahman for his direct involvement in extortion and bribery.
US imposes visa restrictions on Tarique Rahman
On November 3, 2008, the US ambassador to Bangladesh James Moriarty in a confidential cable sought “a security advisory opinion under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Presidential Proclamation 7750, suspending the entry into the United States of Tarique Rahman”.
In this cable, Ambassador Moriarty further wrote, “The Embassy believes Tarique [Rahman] is guilty of egregious political corruption that has had a serious adverse effect on US national interests mentioned in Section 4 of the proclamation, namely the stability of democratic institutions and US foreign assistance goals”.
Terming Tarique Rahman as “the notorious and widely feared son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia”, Ambassador Moriarty wrote: “Tarique is an extremely high profile political figure. Notorious for flagrantly and frequently demanding bribes in connection with government procurement actions and appointments to political office, Tarique is a symbol of kleptocratic government and violent politics in Bangladesh”.
Following this cable from Ambassador James Moriarty, Washington imposed visa restriction on Tarique Rahman in 2009 thus banning him from entering America. Since then Tarique Rahman’s men in the United States, including Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey, William B Milam and Jon Danilowicz have been making frantic bids in getting this ban lifted.
Washington’s decision on upcoming election in Bangladesh
During the recent Bangladesh visit of the US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya and a delegation of senior US government officials from the Department of State, including Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asia Donald Lu, in a statement said, “a prosperous future depends on strong democratic institutions, and the broad participation of Bangladeshis in elections and governance of their country”.
While Bangladesh Nationalist Party was eagerly waiting for a statement from the US officials on caretaker government, Uzra Zeya said the question of a caretaker government, or a boycott are “internal matters” for the people of Bangladesh. She further said, “We don’t see a role for the United States. And I just want to underscore the final point that we do not take sides between political parties”.
Meaning, the US administration is not stepping into the shoes of ultra-Islamist BNP.
Engaging & productive convo with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 50+ years of #USBDPartnership. 🇺🇸 appreciates 🇧🇩’s generosity towards Rohingya refugees & looks forward to free & fair elections anchoring a thriving democratic future for the Bangladeshi people. pic.twitter.com/awNk1p2QZu
— Under Secretary Uzra Zeya (@UnderSecStateJ) July 13, 2023
When Uzra Zeya and members of her delegation called-on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, they were told that it is Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to hold free and fair election in the country.
“We always fought for free and fair election in the country, we already have held free and fair election”, Sheikh Hasina said.
She mentioned that Awami League always fought for the rights of the people.
“We always fight for people’s right to choose their representatives”, she added.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also mentioned that it was BNP who started vote rigging in the country. In this connection, she said that transparent ballot boxes have been introduced for polls.
She recalled the atrocities, terrorism activities and arson attacks of BNP and their allies during 2013-15 that left 500 people killed.
Desperate Tarique Rahman resorts to fresher plot
Although BNP has been frantically trying to convince Western nations, including the United States with the hope of getting their support towards its demand for holding the next general election in Bangladesh under an unelected caretaker government, Tarique Rahman’s men are also actively pursuing the Biden administration through their lobbyists, including Hunter Biden in imposing sanctions on hundreds of Bangladesh nationals by using Global Magnitsky Act and confiscate their properties and bank accounts in the United States. As a result of such desperate persuasion and influence of Hunter Biden, the US Department of Justice asked American banks to provide detail information on bank accounts of Bangladeshi-Americans living in the United States or Bangladeshi citizens having bank accounts in the country.
Meanwhile, another US organization began gathering information on properties owned by Bangladeshi citizen. Such steps have already generated doubt as several US lawmakers have called upon President Joe Biden to impose ‘stricter sanctions’ on a number of individuals in Bangladesh. It was earlier reported in the media that lobbyists working for Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) have been frantically pushing the US Department of Treasury to impose sanctions on dozens of Bangladeshi nationals using Global Magnitsky Act.
It may be mentioned here that the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act is a bipartisan bill, passed by the US Congress and signed into law by president Barack Obama in December 2012, intending to punish Russian officials responsible for the death of Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009. Since 2016, the bill, which applies globally, authorizes the US government to sanction those it sees as human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the US. In 2015 and 2019, Canada and the European Union, respectively, passed similar Magnitsky laws to impose sanctions including freezing assets on those involved in the worst human rights abuses around the world and to bring justice for victims of corrupt foreign officials.
Building upon the Magnitsky Act, Executive Order (EO) 13818 was issued on December 20, 2017, in recognition that the prevalence of human rights abuse and corruption that have their source, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States, had reached such scope and gravity as to threaten the stability of international political and economic systems. Human rights abuse and corruption undermine the values that form an essential foundation of stable, secure, and functioning societies; have devastating impacts on individuals; weaken democratic institutions; degrade the rule of law; perpetuate violent conflicts; facilitate the activities of dangerous persons; and undermine economic markets.
This Executive Order allows the United States to impose tangible and significant consequences on those who commit serious human rights abuse or engage in corruption, as well as to protect the financial system of the United States from abuse by these same persons. Measures can include inter alia restrictions on property and interests in property of designated entities and individuals: ‘All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn…’ (Section 1).
