US Congressman and Chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory W Meeks has voiced his strong support for the Biden Administration's sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion and several of its officials.
He also said that wholesale sanctions against Bangladesh were not necessary, but targeted sanctions were most useful.
Congressman Meeks, a Democrat, told a fundraising event in New York on January 31 that Washington did not want to impose any sanctions on Bangladesh as there was an excellent relationship between the two countries.
“I believe sanctions can be most useful when they are targeted and don’t believe wholesale sanctions on Bangladesh are currently warranted," he said in a statement on Friday.
"However, I strongly support the Biden Administration’s designation of the Rapid Action Battalion and several of its current and former members under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Accountability Act for human rights violations," he said.
"I continue to support the strengthening of the US-Bangladesh relationship and look forward to working to help address human rights and democracy challenges in the country, including ensuring that the country’s next elections are free and fair,” he added.
Also Read Meeks: No plan to impose sanctions on Bangladesh
An eminent lawyer, Meeks has been a US representative of Democratic Party from New York since 1998, and serving as the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee since 2021.
Speaking at the fundraising event in New York on Monday, the congressman said that he will visit Bangladesh this year to see the human rights situation and other issues.
"Before then, I’ll talk to the State Department and Congress Sub-Committee on the Asia-Pacific. If necessary, we'll arrange a hearing in the Congress on Bangladesh issues," a statement by the Bangladesh embassy in Washington DC quoted Meeks saying.
