Jan 5 polls ‘undeniably flawed’: US envoy-designate says

The US ambassador-designate to Bangladesh has said the Jan 5 parliamentary elections were “undeniably flawed” and that she would take forward Washington’s policy to the country if her nomination confirmed.

Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat submitted her statement about Bangladesh for the record before the senate foreign relations committee in Washington on Thursday.

She said Bangladesh’s main political parties “urgently need to engage in constructive dialogue that leads to a more representative government”.

Major opposition BNP had boycotted the elections that led to more than half of the seats returning uncontested winners.

The US did not support the elections and called for fresh polls as soon as possible with an agreed poll-time dispensation, the issue on the BNP-led alliance had boycotted the poll.

Bernicat was nominated by President Barack Obama in May to be the next US ambassador to Bangladesh.

She will replace Dan Mozena, when her appointment is finalised.

Bernicat served in the Department of State as Office Director for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs from 2006 to 2008.

A career Foreign Service officer, she is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources at the Department of State, a position she has held since 2012.

She was previously the US Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau from 2008 to 2011.

She said she served the US people in eight countries across five geographic regions over the past three decades.

“My sons Sumit Nicolaus and Sunil Christopher hail from the subcontinent and have enthusiastically called the world their classroom, as has their father, Olivier Bernicat,” she said.

She said her nomination came as “an honor” for her “to serve the United States in such a strategically important country, at such a critical time for our bilateral relationship”.

She mentioned almost all issues that the US had been following in Bangladesh particularly labour rights and workplace safety issue, civil society organizations, war crimes trial, human rights issues, the Grameen Bank, political violence, and extrajudicial killings.

She also highlighted Bangladesh’s socio-economic growth and said its strategic location between a growing India and a newly opening Burma made it “well-positioned to play a key role in linking South and Southeast Asia”.

In her long diplomatic career, Bernicat was the deputy political counselor at the US embassy in New Delhi from 1992 to 1995, and Desk Officer for Nepal and India in the Bureau of Near East and South Asian Affairs from 1988 to 1990.

If confirmed in the Bangladesh mission, she said, she would continue to advance US cooperation on “strengthening security, including on issues of counterterrorism, maritime security, peacekeeping, and combating trafficking of drugs and arms”.

“The strong US-Bangladesh relationship allows us to discuss our differences, when they occur, in a spirit of candor and openness”.

“In this context, we have noted the United States remains concerned about recent trends in democracy and human rights in Bangladesh.

“We remain gravely concerned about attacks on religious and ethnic minorities, political violence, and extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by security forces”.

“If confirmed, I will work hard to support efforts to promote accountability and strengthen human rights and democracy in Bangladesh,” she said.

She said she would, if confirmed, “passionately advocate policies that enshrine peaceful democratic values, including respect for human rights and diversity, room for civil society to flourish, space for the free and peaceful discussion of political differences unmarred by violence, and adherence to the rule of law by an independent judiciary”.

She said “the US supports bringing to justice those who committed atrocities in the 1971 war, but those trials should be fair and transparent, and in accordance with international standards”.

“We also encourage the government to ensure the continued effectiveness of Grameen Bank and protect its unique governance structure”.

She said labour rights and workplace safety in Bangladesh “remain a top US priority”.

“We need Bangladeshis to ensure there will be no more heart-rending tragedies like the Rana Plaza building collapse or the Tazreen Fashions factory fire,” she said.

“If confirmed, I pledge to you that I will actively further our efforts to strengthen respect for labor rights and to improve workplace safety in Bangladesh”.

Earlier, spokesperson of the US embassy in Dhaka Kelly McCarthy told bdnews24.com in May that the current ambassador’s tenure would end when his “successor is confirmed and ready to arrive in Bangladesh”.