Staff Reporter :
The United States of America is hopeful that the National Elections in 2019 in Bangladesh would be inclusive.
“We are hopeful that the elections would be inclusive. Much more important is that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself, at the end of Awami League Party Council, had said she intended to see elections in 2019,” US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat, who recently visited Kolkata, said in an interview with The Hindu.
Replying to a query about dialogue between the two parties is too limiting, she said these [AL and Bangladesh Nationalist Party] are the two main political parties by every account… but there are lots of other parties in Bangladesh.
“I think, holding credible elections will be dependent on having a countrywide discussion, not just among parties but also with the citizens.The very first tangible sign to have a good election will be how the new Election Commission is formed,” the US envoy said.
Replying to another question, she said the US is not concerned about China’s growing economic role in Bangladesh as infrastructure development is a “good thing.”
“I say and the US says, if China wants to be part of that solution, it’s a good thing. What we ask of every player around the world, whether we are talking of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or the Chinese government, please be a responsible player. Recognise that over the time the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other banks have built up a system that meant to be transparent, meant to be efficient, meant to be inclusive and that if you offer opportunities – respect those international norms – everyone would be stronger as a result, ” she said.
When asked whether the US concerned about India’s growing influence in Bangladesh, Marcia Bernicat said their interests are really well-aligned. “We define our interest and our well-being based on security and prosperity of Bangladesh. I think we both suffer from various historical memories that at times have made the Bangladeshis – if not the government, although different governments have behaved in different ways – skeptical about our influence and our interests,” she said.
The US Ambassador said Bangladeshis are fiercely independent and any time either of our countries, the government, the businesses or the key individual players appeared to be trying to unduly influence their ability to make their own decisions we do it to our own peril.
About Bangladesh government action following the July Gulshan attack, she said, Prime Minister [Sheikh Hasina] has acted on her policy of zero tolerance towards terrorists from the time she came to office.
“She has worked very closely with the government of India and we are finding her and her government excellent partners in the fight against terror,” she said. Marcia Bernicat said Bangladesh was threatened by al-Qaeda and ISIL (Islamic State) who publicly declared that they want to attack foreigners, government officials and bloggers.
“Bangladesh has responded to those earlier killings and now… there were strong actions, a new city unit has come up, various services ordered to work closely… and Bangladesh’s friends -India and the US – and many countries stepped forward [to help]. There is a team arriving soon in Bangladesh [from US] to look into what more we can do… in terms of training and material,” he said.
