By: Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP
Over the last 52 years, the relationship between USA and Bangladesh has been great and both President Biden and Secretary Blinken wanted to strengthen it further. No wonder, the US Administration has been sending one after another teams to Bangladesh to explore ways of strengthening our relationship.
Bangladesh and USA are working together on a number of multifaceted issues like climate change, Rohingya, women’s empowerment, UN peacekeeping, health and labour, trade and investment, renewable energy, economic development,education, skill training and digital innovations. USA is also engaged with us to help improving the democratic process, rule of law, freedom of press and media, etc.
Unfortunately, there is a wrong perception among few US lawmakers and officials that Bangladesh is moving towards the debt-trap as some Chinese companies are engaged in constructing few mega projects in Bangladesh.
In reality, those companies were lowest bidders in submitting international tenders. Unfortunately, nobody mentions about Japan, South Korea or India who are also involved in constructing projects in Bangladesh. to date, as a single country, Bangladesh borrowed maximum from Japan and JICA rounding 17 per cent. Bangladesh’s total foreign debt to GDP is around 13.78 per cent. It borrowed maximum loans from international agencies like WB, ADB and IMF amounting to 61 per cent.
In fact, total loan received from China is around 4.0 billion, which is less than 1 per cent of its GDP. Till today American investment in Bangladesh is the highest and amounting 21 per cent, followed by Japan, South Korea, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Recently many more countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Qatar, and Australia showed interest to invest in Bangladesh.
Being strategically located between China and India, Bangladesh maintains a very balanced and non-aligned foreign policy. Cardinal principle of its foreign policy is “friendship to all, malice towards none”, laid down by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Recently, Bangladesh announced its Indo-Pacific Outlook proposing free, open, secure, inclusive and rules-based navigation for all.
Bangladesh maintains absolute religious harmony and tolerance. Despite having a half population size than USA, Bangladesh has almost equal number of dailies. Media, press, social media are very vibrant, free and hyperactive. When the UN Special Reporter reported about few NGOs claim of kidnapping or enforced disappearance of 76 people in Bangladesh, government took it seriously. On investigation, it was found that out of 76, eight are living in homes with families, two are Indian nationals living in India and 28 are absconding from justice.
Unfortunately, police don’t have any complaints from the rest of 38 persons. Neither the civil society nor the human rights organisations could provide any information about them. When their family members were asked to submit more details, they failed to do. Instead, they claimed that the government is harassing.
Therefore, police have stopped going to their homes, they sent them letters with request to submit more details about their whereabouts at the time of missing.
The current government of Sheikh Hasina is the crusader of democracy, human rights and justice. When majority party of Pakistan was denied to form government in 1971, Bangladeshi people sacrificed 3 million lives to uphold democracy, justice, and human rights. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman suffered imprisonment over 14 years to establish democracy, right to vote, food and shelter and spearheaded campaign against corruption, extremism, and terrorism. Following the footsteps of her father, Sheikh Hasina has also suffered pains to establish right to vote, food and shelter, freedom of press and media.
She is currently the only head of the government in the world to suffer so much to establish democracy, human rights and justice. She lost her entire family, her parents, 3 brothers including a 10-year old brother; totalling 18 members were assassinated mercilessly in a military quo in 1975. She endured prison, harassment and deprivation to restore multiparty democracy in Bangladesh. Democracy is in her blood and in the vein of her party, the largest party of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Awami League (AL).
AL always voted to power with people’s mandate, not through backdoor like few other parties of Bangladesh. She is committed to a “free and fair” election and to do so she has instituted biometric photo voter ID, transparent ballot boxes to prevent stuffing ballots before the voting established a very powerful and highly independent Election Commission. It has broad power and responsible to conduct elections without favour or fear.
It has the authority to suspend, transfer or terminate any officials both civilian and security if they find any interference.
More importantly, being convinced of fraud, muscle power or vote rigging, they have the power to cancel election in any centre. Over the last 15 years, AL conducted thousands of elections. Except a microscopic few, by and large, elections were free and fair. Recently, Mayoral elections in five cities were conducted and each of these elections was free, fair and non-violent. The Election Commission deserves thanks for a splendid job.
However, it is fact that even if the Election Commission or the government of Bangladesh are committed for a free, fair and non-violent election, without sincere commitment of all political parties, one cannot guarantee a non-violent election in Bangladesh.
If the opposition parties like the BNP or the Jamaat boycott the election or burn down election centres, ransack ballot boxes, create roadblocks to voters, burn-down public and private vehicles as they did in 2014 and 2018 you cannot expect a non-violent election. Therefore, it is imperative that all parties must participate and sincerely commit for a free, fair and non-violent election.
The writer is the Foreign Minister of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
