Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who has been living on self-exile in the United Kingdom since 2007 along with his wife Dr. Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman has decided to send his daughter Zaima to Bangladesh by this month, while a source said, Zaima Rahman may appear at BNP’s October 28 rally in Dhaka. It is though unknown which passport Zaima Rahman may use for visiting Bangladesh, the source said, she holds British passport for “few years” and been a practicing lawyer in London.
With the decision of sending Zaima Rahman to Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman has instructed BNP’s US lobbyists William B Milam and Jon Danilowicz as well as BNP’s employee Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey to expedite the process of getting several targeted individuals and organizations in Bangladesh placed under US sanctions by this month. It may be mentioned here that, the US authorities have been silently preparing for slapping sanctions on several individuals and organizations in Bangladesh under Global Magnitsky Act.
The source further said, several key figures in Bangladesh Nationalist Party believe, fresher US sanctions on a number of Bangladeshi individual and organization would “significantly” boost party’s ongoing anti-government activities.
The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which was signed into law in December 2016, authorizes the United States to impose targeted sanctions on individuals or entities worldwide responsible for committing serious human rights abuses or significant corruption. Under the Global Magnitsky Act, the U.S. may impose sanctions in the following circumstances:
Perpetration of gross human rights violations: The Act allows the US government to target individuals or entities responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. This includes those who have been involved in acts of significant corruption.
Corruption and serious human rights abuses: The Act covers individuals who are involved in significant acts of corruption, including the expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts, bribery, or the facilitation of government corruption.
Responsible individuals and entities: Sanctions can be imposed on not only the individuals directly responsible for these abuses but also those who have ordered, assisted, or otherwise been complicit in such activities. Additionally, the Act allows for the sanctioning of individuals or entities who have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for these activities.
The Act provides for a range of sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, against the individuals or entities found to be responsible for such egregious acts. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing these sanctions.
Sanctions are intended to deter and penalize those involved in severe human rights abuses and corruption, sending a strong signal that such behavior will not be tolerated by the United States.
Meanwhile, BNP lobbyists William B Milam and Jon Danilowicz have reportedly submitted press clippings of statements with the US State Department of several leaders of ruling Awami League following Hamas terror attacks on Israel stating these individuals were “working in favor of Hamas” and “against US interest”.
Seeking anonymity, a highly-placed source inside BNP told this correspondent that the matter of Zaima Rahman’s returning to Bangladesh and joining party’s October 28 rally is “almost on final stage”. On her return, Zaima Rahman may stay at her grandmother’s Gulshan residence, while she also is expected to visit party’s Naya Paltan office on a regular basis.
It is also learnt; Bangladesh Nationalist Party has requested Barrister Adilur Rahman to attend party’s October 28 rally.
It may be mentioned here that, following publication of a couple of investigative reports exposing nefarious lobbyist activities run by Jon Danilowicz and his Islamist cohorts in favor of BNP, a desperate Jon and the gang of Islamist cyber terrorists have resorted to smear propaganda targeting Blitz, a newspaper that has been well-respected by millions of people throughout the world, including key figures in the United States and the West as the most influential newspaper in the Muslim world for this unbiased editorial policy and hard-hitting reports exposing notoriety of Islamists, jihadists, terrorists and religious bigots. Being driven totally mad at Blitz a shattered Jon Danilowicz in a recent tweet said, “Again, check your facts. I am as Catholic as the Pope. And if you think Weekly Blitz [name of this newspaper is not Weekly Blitz. It is Blitz] and NYT are on par, I probably can’t help you. Bangladesh Zindabad”.
A desperate Jon Danilowicz who openly pronounces “Bangladesh Zindabad” the official slogan of BNP even went further by falsely accusing Blitz of running “ad hominem attacks”, although he does not have the moral courage of refuting any of the allegations that Blitz has already published.
It may be mentioned here that, Jon Danilowicz, a former Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Bangladesh has become a propagandist in favor of Islamists and jihadists in Bangladesh by joining a vicious group named ‘Right to Freedom’, which is jointly funded by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). Within the diplomatic and media circle in Bangladesh, Jon Danilowicz was known as an influential diplomat who made frantic bids in sabotaging the January 5, 2014 general elections in Bangladesh and plant an unelected coalition government of several members of the civil society, including a controversial editor of an English daily as well as members of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami. He also made frantic bids in saving war criminals from being prosecuted.
As Jon Danilowicz failed to unseat Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government by sabotaging the election, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turned furious at him. As a result, he was abruptly withdrawn from Dhaka and transferred to Islamabad as Consulate General – just within 17 months of his stay in Bangladesh. In his previous two postings in Bangladesh, Jon Danilowicz completed three years of the tenures – each time. Meaning, totally he has served at the US Embassy in Bangladesh for a total period of 89 months.
According to the description of Jon Danilowicz on his LinkedIn profile: “Thirty two years of reporting on and analyzing global political developments, managing justice sector assistance programs, and providing leadership in some of our most challenging diplomatic posts. Currently seeking to draw upon these international experiences to promote domestic political and economic development. Looking to leverage my background as a teacher, mentor, strategic thinker and practitioner to link the global with the local in my native New England”.
According to his Twitter handle, Jon Danilowicz has been dedicatedly working against Bangladesh and ruling Awami League, proving, it is now his full-time job to spread nefarious propaganda against Bangladesh. In addition to such nefarious propaganda, Jon Danilowics has recently written a derogatory content against Bangladesh, which is published on his own website named ‘South Asia Perspectives’.
Interestingly, the address of the ‘South Asia Perspectives’ website is 1015 15th St NW, Suite 600, Washington DC, 20005, whereas according to the website of ‘Right to Freedom’ its office also is at the same address, proving this website also is funded by BNP-Jamaat nexus.
According to the ‘About Us’ page of the ‘South Asia Perspectives’, this website is run by the same gang of BNP-Jamaat nexus such as William B Milam, Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey, Jon Danilowicz, and Sultan Muhammed Zakaria.
