Ask US envoy about rights situation in his country
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has wondered why Bangladeshi journalists don't ask the US ambassador about the human rights situation and the state of democracy in his country.
In a message sent to journalists yesterday, Momen said, "Would you please ask questions to the US ambassador why they cannot stop such extrajudicial killings in their own country?"
The message comes a day after US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas spoke on the US priorities of human rights, democracy, and media freedom.
Addressing a Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) Talk at the Jatiya Press Club on Tuesday, the envoy said the US wants to see a free and fair general election in Bangladesh.
Momen yesterday said nearly 1 lakh US citizens go missing in the USA each year and even children are deprived of reuniting with their Hispanic parents. "Ask the USA about their issues and not about Bangladesh. The USA is not obligated to govern and help improve this country of ours."
The minister further questioned why the US obstructed the broadcast of RT TV (a Russian TV channel) if it wanted freedom of press.
"If they want accountability, why there has not been any punishment or accountability of the US security forces/police that have killed over a thousand citizens, mostly black and Hispanic, each year?
"Why don't you ask those questions to the US ambassador? If there [read their] election process is fair, then why young Americans don't have faith in their election process and they hardly vote? Hardly any young Americans vote. Why their vote count is around 25 percent in each election? Does it represent a participatory election process?" the foreign minister said.
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