Bangladesh was once a country with a strong foreign service. Its diplomats were considered among the best in the world. Leaders across the globe acclaimed Bangladesh’s diplomats for their role in steering multilateralism at the UN, creating SAARC, and promoting regional stability.
In 1983, US President Ronald Reagan had much to say about Bangladesh foreign policy. In a joint press conference with H M Ershad, he remarked: “The United States wishes to applaud Bangladesh, a member of the non-aligned movement, for its constructive approach to issues of regional and global concern. To cite only a few examples: Bangladesh clearly manifested its courage and resolve in its unswerving responses to aggression in Afghanistan and Kampuchea."
“It also took the lead in establishing the South Asian Regional Cooperation Organization, a body designed to build a more prosperous and stable region for the people of South Asia. Bangladesh’s foreign policy has exhibited an activism, moderation, and force of moral conviction which has earned the respect of the world.”
A lot to live up to
Today, the Foreign Ministry is a shadow of its former self. The foreign service cadre is failing to get hold of many young Bangladeshis who graduated from the world’s top universities with degrees in international relations, political science, law, literature, and governance.
Instead, many in the foreign service cadre are recruited from unrelated academic fields like engineering and medicine. Does this point to a deliberate weakening and undermining of Bangladesh’s foreign service?
There are now more Bangladeshi graduates of international relations than ever before. Yet, the foreign ministry is unable to get hold of them. When the foreign ministry is preferring doctors and engineers over specialists of foreign policy, then it is a preposterous and scandalous affair.
The current leadership at the ministry is also of concern. The foreign minister’s recent remarks regarding the whereabouts of victims of enforced disappearances, whom he whimsically claimed had drowned in the Mediterranean, smacks of undiplomatic language alien to our traditional foreign policy.
However, it is the state minister for foreign affairs who perhaps has the most to answer for. He has clearly lost the benefit of the doubt.
Malaysia
When Khairuzzaman, one of the accused in the 1975 assassinations who was acquitted by a Bangladeshi court, was arrested in Malaysia for alleged violations of immigration law, there was hope that he would be deported so that his case could be re-opened. Khairuzzaman is ultimately not the big fish we are aiming for in the pursuit of getting back the convicted assassins of Bangabandhu.
Nevertheless, his detention showed that it is possible to catch this motley group of bandits. If Bangladesh proceeded with much needed reforms like abolishing the death penalty, it would pave the way for seriously considering the extradition and deportation of the Bangabandhu assassins. It is in the Awami League’s interest to do so. Only the Awami League knows why it is not doing so.
The state minister's reaction to the detention of Khairuzzaman in Malaysia was not helpful. He remarked that Malaysia is not a “Western country.” Malaysia is actually referred to as a brotherly country in Bangladesh’s diplomatic parlance. But the state minister did not call Malaysia a brotherly country either.
If Malaysia is not a brotherly country, then what is it? Malaysia happens to be one of the leading federal democracies in Asia. Malaysia took part in the recent summit of democracies. Malaysia was also among the first countries in the Muslim world to recognize the independence of Bangladesh.
What the state minister could have said is that the law will take its own course, which is exactly what happened. He could have said that Bangladesh believes in due process in light of the fact that Khairuzzaman was acquitted by a Bangladeshi court. Due to Khairuzzaman’s status as a refugee, Malaysia cannot deport him. He was eventually released from detention.
US sanctions
It was amusing to see the state minister paraphrase US congressman Gregory Meeks on the issue of American sanctions on RAB and the head of the Bangladeshi police. Meeks chairs the congressional foreign affairs committee. Meeks had said that the US does not want to impose sanctions on Bangladesh itself but that sanctions were imposed on human rights violators.
The state minister reacted by repeating the same thing -- that the US will not impose sanctions on Bangladesh. Soon enough, the congressman’s office issued a statement expressing support for sanctions on RAB.
Given that the US and Bangladesh are partners in many respects, he could have responded that the issue of sanctions is under discussion between the two governments. Indeed, Bangladesh and the US have been engaging with each other over the Leahy Law since the sanctions were imposed. He could have reaffirmed the friendly bonds that underpin the US-Bangladesh relationship.
All that the state minister said was that the US will not impose sanctions on Bangladesh. Well, the US did impose sanctions on a security agency of the government. His remarks basically proved that there was no change in policy from the Bangladeshi side.
The Bangladeshi public is being told that lobbyists are being appointed to pursue the removal of sanctions on RAB and the IGP. Aside from the fact that it will not work, it is a joke that the foreign ministry thinks the public will buy the argument that lobbying is the way forward.
Partisan lobbying by the Awami League and BNP has brought no results for Bangladesh. Why on earth would we believe that lobbyists can force America to tone down its moral stand?
Iran and the Myanmar junta
In January 2022, reports emerged that Iran had begun supplying weapons to Myanmar. There were reports that a sanctioned Iranian airline has been traveling to Myanmar. The sanctioned airline is used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to supply arms to Syria. The reports have speculated on possible Iranian missiles being supplied to Myanmar’s military junta.
The state minister visited Tehran in August 2021 for the inauguration of Iran’s hardline new president Ebrahim Raisi. During his talks with Iranian leaders, Palestine and the Rohingya featured prominently. How did he fare in his discussions with the Iranian leadership? It appears the regime in Tehran is abandoning its principled position on the Rohingya by supplying arms to Myanmar’s junta. Bangladesh should ask for a clarification from Tehran regarding these reports.
The government should be concerned that Myanmar’s junta has been receiving arms from China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. The junta has expanded its air force with the help of Russia, China, and Pakistan. It has expanded its navy with the help of India and China.
The junta’s military buildup must be of concern for Bangladesh and its military deterrence policy. It is important for Bangladesh to be a net security provider in the Bay of Bengal due to the multitude of economic activities in the bay.
Further Iranian military support for the junta in Myanmar should force Bangladesh to think hard about its Middle East policy. Bangladesh can turn to the new security paradigm evolving in the Persian Gulf, which includes Bahrain, the UAE, and Israel. Bangladesh has been a firm supporter of Saudi Arabia in its actions against Iranian-backed militants in Yemen.
PR nightmare
Bangladeshi diplomacy is experiencing a public relations disaster. The buck stops with the ministers at the helm of the foreign ministry, including both the foreign minister and the state minister. The foreign minister should consider delegating to a professional public relations team.
The ministry should improve its social media profile. The foreign ministry has recently been active on Twitter but its tweets often have spelling and grammatical mistakes.
It loves to post on Facebook but its posts there are also replete with errors in spelling and grammar. This is a disgrace. It is a disservice to the legacy of our towering diplomats who once led the Foreign Service.
Bangladesh deserves better.
Umran Chowdhury is a Researcher at the SOAS School of Law.
