e-News® | The NEWS Company…DHAKA, Feb 20, 2015 : US Secretary of State John F Kerry has called for an immediate end to attacks on the civilians in Bangladesh in the name of hartals and blockades. “The ongoing attacks on the civilians in Bangladesh in the name of hartals and blockades must be stopped,” he said.
The US secretary of state came up with the call during a meeting with visiting Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at the US Department of State in Washington on Thursday. According to a message received here today said that the two leaders agreed that violence has no space in a democracy, and condemned the mindless violence and extremism in the name of ideology or political expression. They discussed a range of Bangladesh-US bilateral relations, the message said. Ali and Kerry expressed their satisfaction at the current level of cooperation and acknowledged that the bilateral relation is expanding from strength to strength.
The US secretary of state applauded Bangladesh for its huge success in the socioeconomic fields and said that Washington would be happy to continue expanding its cooperation with Dhaka. The two leaders agreed to work together on a number of global issues, inter alia, climate change, countering violent extremism, terrorism, peacekeeping, human security, disaster preparedness etc. John Kerry expressed deep interest to work with Bangladesh in fighting climate change. Ali requested John Kerry to expedite repatriation of Rashed Chowdhury, one of the convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is reportedly hiding in the USA. When the Bangladesh foreign minister invited his US counterpart to visit Bangladesh, John Kerry responded very positively and said that he would love to take the visit at the earliest opportunity.
The Bangladesh foreign minister was accompanied by Bangladesh Ambassador to USA M Ziauddin, Foreign Secretary Md. Shahidul Haque and Director General (Americas) Mahfuzur Rahman, while US Assistant Secretary of State for South & Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal assisted the secretary of state. Earlier on the day, Mahmood Ali attended the Ministerial Segment of the White House Countering Violent Extremism Summit, which was addressed by US President Barack Obama. He reiterated that Bangladesh denounces terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, and expressed determination that the people of Bangladesh are determined to restore and strengthen the secular and inclusive social fabric of the country.
“We are also resolute to restore and strengthen the centuries-old Bengali ethos and culture to allow for extraordinary social tolerance, peace, social harmony and religious freedom,” he said. The foreign minister mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, time and again, vowed that Bangladesh would never tolerate and patronize terrorist activities and resist every attempt to use its soil by terrorist groups against other friendly countries. He said that women’s social mobility in Bangladesh has been critical for the religious extremist agenda to feel weakened at one of its fundamental pursuits. Praising the role of Bangladesh media, Ali said that the media has been the strongest ally in projecting a robust counter narrative in the backdrop of terrorist threats from home and abroad.
