A US congress subcommittee has expressed anxiety over Bangladesh’s political instability, warning that it would serve as a breeding ground for religious extremism and militancy.
The House Sub-committee on Asia Pacific, led by Congressman Matt Salmon, said so on Thursday in a hearing titled ‘Bangladesh’s Fracture: Political and Religious Extremism’.
Salmon said that such situations put to risk the democratic process and both BNP and Awami League would suffer. “So the two major parties should realise the dilemma and sit in dialogue for the sake of democracy.”
Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin meets Congressman Matt Salmon
Senior research fellow of the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center, Lisa Curtis, in her testimony warned the recent political unrest could increase “the risk of being exploited by Islamist radicals to forward their agenda of overturning the democratic process”.
“Prolonged political deadlock or escalating street violence could also lead to another military coup along the lines of what occurred in 2007. In either scenario, both the Awami League and BNP would suffer.”
She also warned, “If Sheikh Hasina faces little or no international resistance to her increasingly authoritarian approach to governing, Bangladeshi politics will almost certainly turn increasingly violent and radical Islamist groups will more easily gain recruits.”
In her suggestion she urged “the US should press the Hasina government either to release the thousands of detained opposition activists currently in jail or to move forward with their cases, according to due process of law.
“It is necessary to bring to justice those responsible for killing innocent bystanders, especially the victims of the unprecedented petrol bombings.”
Illinois State University’s chairman of politics and government department, Ali Riaz, said dialogue and consensus amongst political parties is essential.
For that to happen it is must to “ensure fairly acquired democratic mandate”, “erosion of fundamental rights be stopped”, “constitutional parties are restored”, “freedom of assembly, movement and speech guaranteed in the constitution be adhered to in essence and to the letter.
He also said “Unaccountable and excessive use of the state’s coercive power including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance be brought to an end; All parties, including the opposition parties, unequivocally renounce violence as a means to achieve political goals; Institutions to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens including exercising the right to vote freely be strengthened.”
Another speaker, Jay Kansara, Hindu American Foundation’s director of government relations, urged “both the Bangladesh and US governments declare JamaateIslami and Islami Chhatra Shibir as illegal organisation and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) respectively.”
He also called for bar on US entry of Jamaat officials and probe their members living in the US for ‘violations of religious freedom’.
“The US should condition all future economic and military aid to Bangladesh only after robust monitoring by the State Department and Congress indicates improved conditions for religious and ethnic minorities.
“The US should encourage Bangladesh to induct more religious minority community members in government administrative and military services, particularly at the officer level, as a specific condition for aid.”
Grace Meng, a key member of the subcommittee, said her country would always stand besides Bangladesh in upholding the rule of law in line with democratic practices.
She also pointed out that, even though Bangladesh had done some work for overall development of the garments sector, it had failed the target to ensure workers’ rights to unions and develop work conditions.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s ambassador in Washington Mohammad Ziauddin met Congressman Matt Salmon on Wednesday at the Capitol Hill.
The ambassador briefed Bangladesh’s socio-economic development and political situation to the Congressman.
He also mentioned that the city corporations’ elections on Apr 28 were held in “a free, fair and credible manner”.
Source: Bd news24
