The newly appointed US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat has set her tone to improve the bilateral relation between Dhaka and Washington, DC.
She said both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry had given her a guideline to do everything in her power to help strengthen, broaden and deepen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
“I pledged to you that I would do that,” she said yesterday at her first press conference in Bangladesh, at the American Club in the capital.
Bernicat, who sought to be posted in Bangladesh for 30 years, presented her credentials to President Abdul Hamid on February 4.
“I am eager to work with the government, the opposition and the civil society on our vital and common interests over the coming years of my tenure,” Bernicat said.
About the US views on the last general elections, on January 5 last year, she said: “The US views on Bangladesh election are well known and on the record.”
ing termed the last general election “undeniably flawed.”
“What I want to emphasise is that our intent is to move forward with our bilateral relationship; keep in mind that we believe very strongly that Bangladesh is a democratic country,” she said at the press conference.
Asked about the recent meeting of UN Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez Taranco and US Department of State’s Assistant Secretary Nisha Desai Biswal on Bangladesh, she said: “I cannot speak to the details of the meeting. But let me just say that Bangladesh’s friends are all concerned about the situation and we stand ready to help if that help is requested.”
About the recent political violence, she expressed concern and said the US deplored the unconscionable attacks, including bus burnings and train derailments, which killed and wounded a good number of people.
“We have condemned in the strongest terms the use of violence for political objectives, believing that there is simply no justification for such actions in a democratic Bangladesh.”
She said everyone had a role to play in stopping the violence, to resolve their differences through non-violent and responsible political expression.
She also emphasised that the US does not back any particular political force or party in Bangladesh.
“Our intention is to work with all Bangladeshis, including a government that is receptive to a broader and deeper bilateral relationship with the United States.”
About dialogue among the political parties, she said the solutions and the means to address the political differences exist in Bangladesh and Bangladeshis will decide about it.
“I have every hope that Bangladesh will find a way to resolve this crisis. I can’t predict what that will be, I don’t want to predict what form it will be,” she said.
She considered improving business climate as one of the biggest challenges in Bangladesh. “One of the challenges we both face together is going back to the question of business climate, how we make sure that there is a fully conducive atmosphere for doing business not just for American businesses, but for Bangladeshi businesses as well.”
She also lauded Bangladesh’s role in the fight against terrorism and extremism.
EU parliamentary team meets Khaleda
A six-member European Union Parliamentary delegation met with BNP chief Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan political office yesterday evening.
The delegation reached Khaleda’s office at 6:40pm.
The team, led by Cristian Dan Preda, vice president of the human rights sub-committee of the EU parliament, reached here on Sunday and will stay until Friday.
Sent by the EU sub-committee, the delegation are here observe the human rights situation in Bangladesh amid the ongoing violence around the country.
The committee members will also meet Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, Law Minister Anisul Huq and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam.
This is the first time the sub-committee has dispatched a team to Bangladesh.
They will discuss the overall human rights situation including labour rights, RMG sector, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Rohingya, among other issues.
The EU embassy in Dhaka has also arranged meetings with civil society, media and think tanks for the delegation, a foreign ministry official said.
The team will submit a report to the sub-committee after it returns to Brussels.
