UNB, Dhaka A group of diplomats stationed in Dhaka on Sunday called for an end to the current violence recalling their previous statements on events in Bangladesh, and those by the UN. The diplomats, including ambassadors, high commissioners and charge d’ Affaires, met Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and made the call. They encouraged confidence-building measures – including the de-escalation of Bangladesh’s political conflict – in the interest of fostering safety, stability, growth, human rights and democracy in Bangladesh. The diplomats also discussed the current events in Bangladesh, according to a media release jointly issued by Australia, Canada, Denmark, EU, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. A Foreign Ministry media release said the Foreign Minister briefed the envoys on the current political situation as part of his regular engagements with resident diplomatic missions in Dhaka. The Foreign Minister briefed the Heads of Missions about the latest trends in the violent and terrorist acts being perpetrated by the BNP-Jamaat combine since January 5, 2015. Mahmood Ali reiterated the government’s firm commitment to contain the violence and ensure protection for people in general from the indiscriminate attacks by the BNP-Jamaat miscreants. He said that, BNP-Jamaat alliance is directly inciting an extremist agenda in order to challenge the democratic, non-communal and non-confrontational ethos of the country. While stressing that violence does not have any place in democracy, he added that some of their recent cowardly acts like throwing petrol bombs at passenger-laden vehicles are almost akin to the terror tactics used by ISIS and others. Mahmood Ali urged the international community to condemn such violence and atrocities in unequivocal terms. He categorically said there was no room for engagement with entities that resorted to terror tactics in the name of political activities. The Foreign Minister noted in particular the concerns raised by the UN, US and EU in the aftermath of the killing of writer and blogger Avijit Roy by yet unidentified assailants. He shared the government’s decision to positively respond to the US’ offer to engage the FBI in unearthing the motive and real culprits behind the murder. The diplomatic envoys attending the briefing reiterated their concern over the continued violence, and underscored the need for the people of Bangladesh to find a solution to the prevailing situation. They urged the return of calm and stability in order to sustain the momentum of Bangladesh’s impressive socio-economic development gains. Advisers to the Prime Minister HT Imam and Dr Gowher Rizvi, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam were present at the briefing and participated in the interaction with the envoys. Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and other senior officials of the Foreign Ministry were also present.
