POBNEWS24, Dhaka, Jan 15, 2023: The US assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has said positive discussions have been held with Bangladesh about the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Donald Lu made the remark while answering queries from the newsmen at the foreign ministry.
On the second day of his visit he held meetings with foreign minister AK Abdul Momen and foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen. They faced the media after the meeting.
While answering newsmen, Donald Lu said, “If you notice the statement of Human Rights Watch, you will see it has been admitted about the extraordinary progress of RAB in decreasing extrajudicial killings. We also recognise this progress. It is extraordinary. It proves RAB is doing well in protecting human rights by maintaining law and order and tackling terrorism.”
Human Rights Watch in a recent report said extrajudicial killing and the incidents of enforced disappearance have dramatically decreased in Bangladesh after US imposed sanctions on RAB. This reveals the Bangladesh government has the capacity to control the misuse of power by the law enforcing agencies.
US assistant secretary of state Donald Lu said, “We have discussed frankly. We are committed to democracy and human rights. If there are problems about any issue, we discuss and can give advice. We believe in protecting the freedom of expression. We work closely with partners like Bangladesh.”
Donald Lu said he has come here to strengthen friendship between two countries at a time when a struggle is going on for world peace and justice.
He also said, “We take pride in the discussion that has been held on labour rights. We have discussed how we can advance labour rights. In this regard, we have confidence in cooperating with each other.”
Donald Lu said an excellent discussion has been held on the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS). This is not a club, rather it is a strategy.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said, “We had a constructive discussion. We had a discussion about how to take the relations of the next 50 years. If there are any problems between us, we will discuss that. If there is any constructive advice, we must accept that. If there are any weaknesses among us we will remove that.”
Abdul Momen said, “We also want free, fair and credible elections. Our party Awami League has always come to power through the democratic process, through ballot, not bullet. We have had an open discussion.”
Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen said, “We have held a number of discussions. I myself have discussed openly. Discussions have been held on trade, investment, labour situation, sanctions, democracy, development, cooperation and Indo-Pacific Strategy.”
Masud Bin Momen said, “Like last year, we have reached an agreement that we will take the relations to the next step with a timeframe under the current mechanism.”
