Fresh US sanctions will be unfortune

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said it will be very unfortunate if the US imposes any new sanctions.

"I don't have any idea about it. It depends on that country," he said at a press briefing at the foreign ministry yesterday.

The event was organised to inform the media about the prime minister's visit to Qatar from May 22-25.

The minister said there is no reason for the US to impose any sanctions. "We hope good sense will prevail and the US will not impose any sanctions."

The minister made the comments referring to a report run by Bangla daily Kalbela on Sunday. The report said the US is going to impose new sanctions on Bangladeshi officials and politicians over violating human rights and engaging in corruption.

"It was very strange and surprising. The report gave no reference [source]," Momen said.

The relations between Bangladesh and the US strained following the latter's sanctions on the Rab and seven of its current and former officials for human rights violations in December 2021.

The two countries have recently held many bilateral meetings to advance the relations. But the US administration had been critical of Bangladesh's last two national elections, saying that there were irregularities and violence.

The US repeatedly called for a free and fair national election in Bangladesh.

Following her recent visit to the US, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh won't buy anything from those countries who impose sanctions on the country.

Asked what provoked the PM to make such remarks, Momen yesterday said politicians say many things, which are warnings to others.

He said Bangladesh is not a country that can be ignored now. It is not dependent on others and it is not a poverty-ridden country any more, he added.

"We are proud of our heritage. We survived many adversaries.... We will not be afraid, rather we will find solutions if there are challenges. This might be the message that was sent out," Momen said.

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Dhaka on Sunday issued an alert for the American citizens, advising them to be careful ahead of the elections as there might be violence.

Momen said the alert was issued at a time when the Bangladesh's national election was seven to eight months away.

"You ask them why they did so. No one is shooting people in the meetings. It may happen if you have enmity with someone," he said.

There is no reason why the US citizens will be targeted here, the minister said, adding that the Americans are not doing anything wrong and the law and order is much improved.

"Rather, there should be an alert that if you go to America, you should be careful about going to malls, schools and bars. That seems to be more relevant," Momen said.

Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud yesterday said the US alert was the result of the BNP's "evil politics", reports BSS.

Replying to a question from a journalist at his ministry, he said, "It is very simple for the US embassy to do this. The US has warned its citizens after seeing the BNP vandalising vehicles and setting those on fire.

"If the BNP and its alliance continue such arson, many [countries] would issue warnings," he said.