Free, fair polls: US-BD shared priority: Patel
Staff Reporter :
The United States has emphasised that a vital pillar of their bilateral relationship with Bangladesh is the mutual commitment to collaboratively pursue the latter’s aspiration for a free, fair, and peaceful election.
“We’ve always emphasised the importance of the United States and Bangladesh working together to achieve Bangladesh’s goal of free and fair elections,” said US Spokesperson Vedant Patel in a press briefing at Washington DC on Wednesday.
He further said that free and fair elections are a ‘shared priority’ as the government of Bangladesh has made this commitment repeatedly.
“We believe that free and fair elections are a shared priority, and many Bangladeshi government officials, including the prime minister, have themselves said that it is their goal,” he stated.
He made these comments in response to a question regarding the summoning of the heads of 13 foreign missions, including the United States, United Kingdom, and the EU, for their recent condemnation of the attack on the Dhaka-17 by-election independent candidate Hero Alom.
“We have been clear that political violence has no place in democracy,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson has also reiterated that the United States does not favour or support any political party.
“The US favours no political party. We support Bangladesh’s goal of holding a free, fair and peaceful election,” he stressed.
Earlier on Wednesday, the government of Bangladesh has warned the 13 missions including the US and the EU not to meddle in the internal affairs of the country as it was the violation of the Vienna Convention of the Diplomatic Relations.
By summoning the 13 heads of the foreign missions at the State Guest House Padma, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam rejected the explanation of the foreign
diplomats on the attack of Hero Alom during election.
He said, “Some four to five diplomats have attempted to justify their joint statement by stating that it was not driven by any specific intention; rather, they aimed to support our electoral process as part of their ongoing engagement.
However, we have rebutted their argument, asserting that the Vienna Convention explicitly specifies that the first point of contact for any envoy should be the ministry of foreign affairs. While we always value their engagement with the media, we have reminded them that they should inform the foreign ministry first before making any statements on any issue.”
He further said that the diplomats would abide by the Vienna Convention and refrain from undiplomatic behaviour in the future.
“We hope that after today’s discussion, they will acknowledge the truth and refrain from such undiplomatic behavior in the future,” he said.
The government of Bangladesh has not only warned these diplomats, but also said that they would send a letter of dissatisfaction to the capitals of respective countries.
“We will convey our dissatisfaction to their respective capitals and strongly urge them to ensure that none of their mission members engages in any similar activity in the future.
We have got our result. We also hope that these countries will distance them from such activity in the upcoming days,” said the State Minister.
