British Prime Minister David Cameron has said the Jan 5 national election is now a matter of the ‘past’ and suggested Bangladesh move ahead, says Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.
Ali told the press of Cameron’s view on Thursday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned from London at the end of a three-day visit.
She was in London to attend the Girl Summit 2014, the first international conference of its kind, and also met her British counterpart.
This was Hasina’s first visit to the UK after coming to power for the second consecutive term. Mahmood Ali was a member of her entourage.
Hasina and Cameron met at the British prime minister’s office, 10 Downing Street, on Tuesday.
“David Cameron has said Bangladesh’s election is now past. We need to look to the future. The UK wants to have close relations with Bangladesh. The British government will continue to work together with Bangladesh government,” Mahmood Ali told reporters.
After the BNP and its allies boycotted the last general polls, the Awami League won a landslide victory and formed the government for a second term.
The UK had expressed ‘disappointment’ over the outcome, as a good number of people were unable to take take part in the election, resulting in a low voter turnout.
When reporters asked whether the UK’s position on Bangladesh was ‘clear’, Ali said, “Of course, clear as daylight. He (Cameron) said ‘Election is over. It is past. Now we look to the future’.”
When his attention was drawn to US ambassador-designate to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat’s remarks about the Jan 5 poll, he said, “That’s not the US’ statement. It’s the ambassador’s. Not their government’s.”
“She said that at the senate committee hearing. That’s their internal matter.”
Bernicat said last week that the Jan 5 elections were ‘undeniably flawed’.
Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said, “She has not arrived here yet. Confirmation is yet to come. She has not taken charge as the US ambassador. This is not the US government’s opinion.”
He said the British prime minister expressed his wish to visit Bangladesh to see how the country had progressed so rapidly in socio-economic terms and sustained a steady six percent growth rate.
David Cameron also wanted to go to Sylhet, he said.
The Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK mostly comprises people from the Sylhet region.
Ali said: “Mr Cameron said was he wanted to come to Bangladesh to see the astonishing development achieved under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. ‘I want to go there and see for myself’.”
The minister quoted Sheikh Hasina as saying: “We will of course invite you and you will also visit Sylhet. We will organise everything.”
Cameron had also praised Bangladesh’s successes in countering the challenges posed by fundamentalists and terrorism, the foreign minister said.
Regarding the Girl Summit, he said, Hasina was the only head of state to have been invited to attend the summit because of her government’s success in protecting the rights of the girl child and women during its term.
About other aspects of the three-day visit, Ali said chairman of the home affairs committee at the UK House of Commons Keith Vaz had assured the prime minister of advising the British government against taking any consular and immigration related decision that might hurt British-Bangladeshi citizens and Bangladeshi students.
The foreign minister was accompanied by the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki at the presss briefing at the foreign ministry.
Source: Bd news24
Once again a twisted reporting by BDnews24. The art of twisting a positive spin to the dictator of Bangladesh is not new. Sheikh Mujib was also accorded the same favor by the media. The Bangladesh media comprise of spin masters.
This news would have been more credible had BDNews24 or the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh cited/quoted directly the relevant statement that David Cameron had supposedly made. I am not a great admirer of David Cameron but given that UK has no direct stake in Bangladesh I would expect David demonstrating a bit of moral position – something that he can afford to and also something that would look good on him without any cost – on Bangladesh’s fraudulent January 5, 2014 election.