Foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka strongly condemned the political violence and arson attacks in the country, calling the situation destructive and saying these acts go against democratic culture.
The diplomats expressed their remarks during a diplomatic briefing held at state guesthouse Padma, where representatives of the US, Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Brazil, Australia and the UN were present. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali briefed the diplomats about the current situation of the country.
Following the meeting, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque briefed reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“They [the diplomats] strongly condemned the destructive activities and arson attacks. These acts are completely unacceptable,” the foreign secretary said.
He said the diplomats had also expressed their view that democracy could not be strengthened through such destructive activities, but hoped that violence would end and democracy would flourish in the coming days.
Asked if the diplomats suggested political dialogue, the foreign secretary said many issues had been discussed at the briefing.
He said apart from describing the current political scenario and the government’s position, the foreign minister also shared the government’s diplomatic success in the past year with the foreign diplomats.
The minister referred to the recent media reports over a telephone call to Khaleda Zia allegedly made by Amit Shah, president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and a statement issued by six US congressmen “expressing their concern over the recent political situation in Bangladesh,” and said both have been found to be absolutely false upon inquiry.
The foreign secretary quoted the minister saying: “None of the incidents was true. They were baseless.”
Mahmood Ali also referred to the European Parliament Resolutions on Bangladesh on January 16 and September 18 last year, condemning such violence and terrorist acts, and their call for a ban on political parties resorting to such acts.
The European Parliament Resolution on January 16 last year states: “The BNP opposition is continuing to cooperate with Jamaat-e-Islami and the splinter group Hefazat-e-Islam, which are regarded as the main instigators of the violence.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the foreign minister briefed the ambassadors of the European Union countries and the head of delegation of the EU in Bangladesh on the current political situation.
He briefed the ambassadors of other European States – Russia, Norway, the Holy See and Switzerland – separately, and along the similar lines, on the same day.
The foreign secretary was also present at the briefing.
The foreign minister will brief two separate groups of diplomats from the OIC member countries and Saarc-Asean countries today.
The briefing is part of the foreign minister’s regular consultations with the ambassadors and heads of foreign missions based in Dhaka.
