The United States should give fresh training to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) if it thinks there is a problem with the way the elite force operates, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said.
“It was the US that taught RAB how to take action. If they now have an issue with thes rules of engagement, then we would ask them to provide RAB with fresh training,” a national daily reported him as saying on Tuesday.
He made the remarks while paying homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of the 21st founding anniversary of Bangabandhu Foundation.
According to the minister, the United Nations is unlikely to take any action against deploying RAB members to peacekeeping missions, following a recent letter by 12 human rights bodies seeking a ban on the law enforcement unit.
Momen said that the letter will not have any effect on RAB members joining the missions as the UN always carries out a thorough background check.
He brushed off the letter, which had accused RAB of being involved in grave human rights violations such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, as a media storm without any serious implication.
The foreign minister further claimed that various lobbyists and organizations were spreading misinformation about Bangladesh.
He said that the same organization that accused RAB had also accused Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction.
“The US considered this to be true and attacked Iraq, only to find there were no weapons of the kind,” he said, adding that the US should recall how they were misguided.
According to Momen, RAB has been working honestly and tirelessly, and action has been taken against any misuses of power.
