Questioning the quality of the US human rights report on Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said that the Bangladeshi officials at the US Embassy in Dhaka prepare the initial draft by collecting information from media reports and some NGOs.
Speaking with reporters at his office on Thursday, the minister said that the NGOs always see negative things everywhere.
“There is another group of people who only seek asylum abroad and give a negative picture of the country to avail of advantage.”
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He added that the tendency to impose values of other countries, like LGBT rights, same sex marriage etc., in the name of human rights violations were regrettable and uncalled for.
"Some opinions came....they want to hit on our religion in the name of human rights and we rejected it," said the foreign minister, referring to the State Department's recent "2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices".
He said that opinions were not human rights and Bangladesh's human rights priorities were right to food, right to education, right to shelter, right accommodation and healthcare. "These are human rights."
Dr Momen said that they had a very good discussion in Washington and both sides want improved relations in the coming years.
He said the US side appreciated Bangladesh's progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh has a "very solid and independent" election commission and its democracy is very transparent.
"Every person in Bangladesh believes in democracy. It's (election) a festival in Bangladesh. We want all parties in elections.
"They have given much respect to my whole delegation," Momen said, referring to his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
On April 17, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said the government would ask for an explanation from the US side on the report, noting that there were fundamental flaws in the report.
The report appears to encourage creating a "society of lawlessness to destabilize" the society and the government, the ministry said in a separate press statement.
