British lawmakers have been travelling safely around Bangladesh in the recent days, despite a latest travel alert issued by their own country.
Four British lawmakers and their delegation of 23 members came to Dhaka on September 25 on an eight-day trip, and have since been enjoying a “wonderful time” travelling to different regions in the country.
“We felt absolutely safe and secure. We have not been worried, we stayed in Gulshan district. We have some young people, not with us tonight, and they are out. They felt confident enough to go out to a restaurant and go around,” British MP Anne Main said yesterday.
“I have to say I am not privy to what has been going on behind the scenes, I do not have the information, but we have felt very well looked after and our team felt very safe and secure,” she said.
The delegation visited Sylhet, while they also visited a Brac project and a health project yesterday, she said.
“It is all about building friendship, coming back again and again, bringing over some wonderful donations from Tesco, English Cricket Board and we have a wonderful time… We have thoroughly enjoyed it,” she said.
The UK government issued a travel alert for its citizens living in Bangladesh on September 28, the same day Italian citizen Cesare Tavella was shot dead at the Gulshan diplomatic zone by unidentified gunmen.
Meanwhile, Bob Blackman, another visiting British lawmaker, said they had journeyed to many projects that were getting assistance from Britain.
“It is a great country to invest [sic] to take place, a great place for British aid to assist Bangladesh to becoming a powerhouse in the East,” he said.
Another lawmaker Paul Scully said they had been in Bangladesh for a week.
“We have seen obviously the situation in news, the tragedy with the Italian citizen that died; but we are perfectly fine. We have been very well looked after, we have seen the usual hospitable nature of the Bangladeshi people and we felt very comfortable,” he said.
Junior UK minister postpones visit
British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire has postponed his scheduled visit to Bangladesh from October 3 to 5.
“They [UK authorities] did not give us any specific reasons,” a Foreign Ministry official told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, a spokesperson at the British High Commission in Dhaka told the UNB news agency: “Irrespective of the latest travel advice changes, plans were in hand for the visit of a UK government minister later this week. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances in London meant that the visit had to be postponed.”
She, however, said they hoped the visit would take place soon.
No travel alert for the Chinese
Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka Ma Mingqiang said his country had no plans to issue any travel alert to its citizens on visiting Bangladesh.
He said the police were investigating the death of the Italian citizen and after its completion, they would be able to say whether it was an act of terrorism or a normal crime.