Bangladesh summons 13 western envoys over statement against attack on candidate

Bangladesh's foreign ministry summoned 13 Western ambassadors on Wednesday (26), following their joint statement protesting an attack on an independent candidate during a parliamentary by-election.

The envoys, which included representatives from the US, Britain, France, and the European Union, had expressed their condemnation of the July 17 attack on Ashraful Alom, an independent candidate who contested against the ruling party's winning candidate in the capital city, Dhaka.

In an attack alleged to be carried out by supporters of the ruling party, the Awami League, actor and social media star, Alom, also known as Hero Alom, was beaten.

Following this incident, 13 diplomats, including envoys from Canada, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, issued a joint statement condemning the violence and stating that "violence has no place in the democratic process."

Concerns have been raised by Western governments over the political climate in Bangladesh, where the ruling party led by prime minister Sheikh Hasina holds significant influence in the legislature.

In response to the joint statement, the envoys were summoned to explain their position, a junior foreign affairs minister, Shahriar Alam said.

“We have expressed our dissatisfaction for their behaviour going beyond diplomatic decency,” he told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy.

Alam emphasised that unlike in the case of acting UN Resident Coordinator Sheldon Yett, who was summoned on July 20 over his nearly identical tweet about Hero Alom, the envoys were only invited.

“We had invited them. We are not calling it a ‘summon',” he said.

The joint statement called on the government to conduct a full investigation and take legal steps against the perpetrators of the attack on Hero Alom.

"Violence has no place in the democratic process. We call for a full investigation and accountability for the perpetrators. Everyone involved in the upcoming elections should ensure that they are free, fair, and peaceful," the statement read.

The meeting attended by diplomats, including the US Ambassador Peter Haas and British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke, took place at the State Guest House, Padma, from 3 pm and lasted 50 minutes.

Asked how the foreign diplomats responded to Dhaka's dissatisfaction, the junior foreign minister said they tried to explain the statement as an effort to cooperate with Bangladesh's electoral process and were not led by any other intention.

“We countered their logic by saying the Vienna Convention (on diplomatic relations) clearly stated that the first point of contact of any ambassador should be the ministry of foreign affairs,” he said.

“We always appreciate their contacts with the media, but they should contact us first regarding making any comment on any (such) issue,” Alam added.

The state minister said the joint statement contained some “fundamental flaws” as they could not acknowledge that the day before its issuance, two of the perpetrators were arrested and “we have informed them about their shortcomings” as well.

Alam also read out a written speech at the briefing, which said the diplomats in their statement did not reflect the day-long peaceful atmosphere of the day.

It said they just focused on an isolated incident at the last moment of the polling and “they did not give appropriate importance on the objectivity in their evaluation for issuing a quick reaction”.

According to Alam, the foreign ministry handed the envoys copies of Bangladesh's written reaction, and copies would be sent to the capitals of the concerned 13 nations through its diplomatic channels.

Responding in the negative when asked if Dhaka's reaction could complicate ties with the countries concerned ahead of early next year's scheduled general elections in Bangladesh, Alam said, “Bangladesh has good relations with every (of these 13) countries, we have businesses, people-to-people contacts with them, and communications are there at think tank levels . . . all these factors will carry forward our relations with them.”

But the development came as Dhaka's relations with the US and Western countries have strained, given the ongoing global scenario, ahead of the scheduled polls in the country.

Diplomatic experts said it was a rare incident when Bangladesh's foreign ministry called such a high number of foreign ambassadors simultaneously to lodge any protest.

Meanwhile, the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and dozens of smaller allies have called for protests throughout the country demanding Hasina step down and the polls take place under a neutral caretaker government.

Hasina has rejected the demand, saying it is unconstitutional.

(With inputs from AFP and PTI)