Diplomatic Correspondent :
In a bid to mend strained ties, the United States endeavours to foster renewed trust with Bangladesh, focusing on future cooperation rather than past discord.
Donald Lu, the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, articulated this resolve following discussions with Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
“Last year witnessed significant tensions between the United States and Bangladesh, particularly concerning the 12th parliamentary election. Our efforts to advocate for a free, fair, and nonviolent electoral process were met with friction. Such challenges are not uncommon in bilateral relations. However, our emphasis now is on looking forward,” stated Lu.
During his two-day visit to Bangladesh, Lu emphasised his commitment to rebuilding trust between the peoples of both nations.
The January 7th election in Bangladesh saw considerable involvement from the US government, manifesting in new visa policies affecting all Bangladeshis.
These policies were implemented with the intention of supporting a democratic electoral process characterised by freedom, fairness, and broad participation.
Notably, the visa regulations stipulated that individuals undermining the integrity of the 12th parliamentary election would face restrictions.
Furthermore, US Ambassador Peter Haas actively engaged with political parties, advocating for a political settlement conducive to inclusive participation in the electoral process. Haas’s diplomatic efforts aimed to prevent the persecution of opposition parties, with a particular focus on ensuring the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) inclusion.
Despite these efforts, BNP opted not to participate in the election, citing concerns over the impartiality of the incumbent government and alleging potential collusion between electoral authorities and the administration.
In the eleventh, Donald Lu sent letters to major political parties to sit to resolve the political standoff before the election. But the ruling party, the Awami League, replied to his letter, saying that there was not adequate time for any dialogue.
Later, the election was held, and the Awami League secured a brute majority to form the government for three consecutive terms.
Though the Awami League claimed that the election was free, fair, and violence-free, the US government at the time said that it was not free and fair. Even during the election period, US Ambassador Peter Hass was not in Bangladesh.
Finally, Donald Lu paid his visit to Bangladesh almost four months later and said that they want to look forward to rebuilding trust with Bangladesh as there are still other hard issues between the two countries.
While talking to the journalist in the foreign ministry, he said, “We want to find ways to strengthen our relationship. So, I spoke today about working on the hard issues in our relationship. We have lots of hard issues: RAB sanctions, labour reforms, human rights, and business climate reforms.”
“In order to work on hard issues, we want to build up the cooperation we have on positive issues. We are talking about new investments, enrolling more Bangladeshi students to study in US universities, and how we can work together on clean energy,” Lu said.
Regarding the meeting discussion, Donal Lu said that he had talked with the foreign minister regarding the US government’s cooperation to combat corruption and other issues.
“I have talked with the minister about how we want to work together to fight corruption. So much we can do is promote the transparency of the government and the accountability of the officials.”
He further said, “We have been invited by the minister to help Bangladesh broaden the tax payments so that all Bangladeshis are paying their share.”