John Kerry’s different Dhaka mission

The root cause of it is their role during the 1971 Liberation War while many believe that the US had hands in the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. Bangladesh fought the war under the leadership of Bangabandhu and the Awami League, and at that time, the Nixon administration supported their old and close ally Pakistan. But, immediately after the war, the US changed its position and recognised Bangladesh in April 1972, though some influential countries did it after the Mujib murder on August 15, 1975. Even during the war, many American people supported Bangladesh. Who cannot remember the famous “Concert for Bangladesh” event organised by two legendary figures – Pandit Ravi Shankar and George Harrison – at the Madison Square Garden in New York on August 1, 1971. And now something has happened during US Secretary of State John Kerry's brief visit to Dhaka last week – only two months before the US elections – which had never happened in the last 45 years. Kerry visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and acknowledged that it was a tragedy that such a brilliant and courageous leader had been stolen from the people of Bangladesh. He recognised that Bangladesh is “growing in the vision of Bangabandhu – and under the strong leadership of his daughter.” He also wrote in the guest book that the US was proud to be a friend of Bangladesh and was a strong supporter of the fulfilment of his Bangabandhu's vision. Several US presidents, secretaries of states or defence secretaries visited Bangladesh previously, but they neither went to the Bangabandhu Museum nor addressed the 1971 issue. For the first time, Kerry not only recognised the leadership of Bangabandhu but also talked about 1971. In his speech at the EMK Centre, Kerry said: “Now, I know that at times there have been some who have felt a little tension regarding this relationship, and that came from 1971.” It is a major policy shift by the US that they have recognised the mistrust and are working to address it. During his meetings with the government highups, Kerry wanted to know how the Bangladesh-US relationship could be improved and the cooperation strengthened, and how Washington could support Bangladesh in achieving its goals. The US has always denied having hands in the assassination of Bangabandhu, and referred to the five convicted killers arrested and later hanged in 2010. Washington in its defence says that those five killers were arrested for long time and had not confessed to anybody that they had communication with any US official or that any US official had asked them to commit the crime. After Kerry’s visit and in the changing scenario, Bangladesh put forward a proposal to deport Bangabandhu’s killer Rashed Chowdhury, who is now believed to be enjoying political asylum in the US. John Kerry has been conveyed to Kerry that deportation of the convicted killer would be a game-changer in the relationship since it is a very emotional issue for the top leadership of Bangladesh. Kerry took note of it and assured the Bangladesh side that he would look into the matter after getting back to Washington. During the visit, Dhaka and Washington also agreed on having more security cooperation. The Bangladesh-US fifth security dialogue will be very crucial as it might provide a solid foundation for the robust security cooperation between the two countries. Foreign Secretary (Maritime Affairs Unit) Mohammad Khurshed Alam will lead the Bangladesh side in the next security dialogue. It is also a major shift from the Bangladesh side to incorporate a person who has strong diplomatic and defence understanding. About the presence of foreign links to the Bangladeshi terrorist groups, Dhaka is yet to come with a clear picture but there is an indication that they did not rule it out. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at a seminar on terrorism last month said Bangladesh was investigating whether there was any foreign links to local militant outfits. To make a long story short, the Dhaka trip of John Kerry is different on many accounts, from his visit to Bangabandhu Museum to discussions about 1971. Its outcome will be determined in the future but the visit has showed that Washington is forthcoming in improving the bilateral relationship as it recognised the trust issue. Now, Bangladesh has to play their cards right.