US changing track on Bangladesh!

The US ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena has described Bangladesh’s current political situation as an “internal” problem.

This is somewhat unusual for the envoy who has usually strongly pitched for fresh interim polls during the impasse created over the Jan 5 elections.

“I think that is an internal issue that political parties of Bangladesh and the people of Bangladesh will need to resolve and they will resolve that at some point,” Mozena said on Sunday.

His comment was sought after the opposition BNP threatened to launch movement against the government after Eid-ul-Azha and the prime minister dismissed any chances of holding dialogue with them.

The BNP boycotted the Jan 5 polls that returned the ruling Awami League to power for the second successive term.

Soon after the elections, the US called for dialogue to hold a fresh election as soon as possible to arrive at an agreement over the poll-time dispensation to pave the way for fresh polls.

The outgoing ambassador was addressing the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) with the DCAB President Mainul Alam in the chair.

Mozena said when the Bangladeshi people resolved their internal problems, “then all the friends of Bangladesh will stand by to help the country in whatever way we can”.

He touched on a wide range of issues on Bangladesh-US relations during his interactions.

He said he was particularly happy to have been able to visit all the districts of Bangladesh, a dream he had pursued.

“I deserve an award and I am going to give myself an award…for the ambassador who has sweated most in Bangladesh...everywhere I went it was hot,”he quipped.

But he said he was impressed to see how “rich” Bangladesh was during his 64-district tour.

Mozena also saw the challenges that Bangladesh faced ranging from infrastructure deficit to governance, and red tape to “threat of political instability”.

But, he said, “for whatever reason God loves Bangladesh best”, as he believed the problems Bangladesh faced could be resolved.

“I have lived in countries that have had challenges that no one could overcome under any circumstances, but that is not the reason in Bangladesh,” he said, adding that all challenges could be resolved.

For example, he said, the power crisis could be solved by getting surplus hydro-power from Bhutan and Nepal.

He said there was even the scope to get power from the north-eastern part of India.

The ambassador believed that tackling the issues of corruption and governance depended on the “commitment and will” of the Bangladeshi people.

Based on his experiences in working in the development sector, he said he did not see money to be a problem for Bangladesh’s infrastructure development.

“I have learnt that money is rarely the problem. There is money available…private sector will invest when it makes sense to invest.”

The US envoy said people would invest when their investment would be safe.

President Barack Obama has nominated Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat as the next US ambassador to Bangladesh.

Mozena said he had been asked to stay in Bangladesh until his successor is confirmed.

“Her confirmation along with 27 other ambassadors is held up in the Senate of the United States. Senate is now on recess until the parliamentary elections (congressional elections) in early November and then mid-Nov the Senate will come back into session.

“My hope is that then they will confirm all of these ambassadors and then she would come sometime after that,” Mozena said.

But he considers himself “lucky” that he was getting additional months in Dhaka.

“Bangladeshis are very political people. I think it’s (politics) in their DNA,” he said when asked whether he discussed politics during his visits to the 64 districts.

He said he was focused on development and economic growth issues, but people tried to talk politics.

“I am always asking people what this district (when he visited a district) can contribute to building Bangladesh, the next Asian Tiger.”

Mozena, whose father was a farmer, said he had interacted with thousands of farmers during his visits across Bangladesh.

He said he was “very pleased”with the progress of the “partnership” between Bangladesh and the US and rejected media reports of US intelligence’s move to oust the Hasina government as“trash”.

“I wish I had brought my mother today. She wanted to come to Bangladesh but could not as she is 93 years old. She would say to you that there is no law against saying and or writing stupid and foolish things...it’s not illegal.

“People want to make up stuff, write up stuff like that…they can write that it’s not illegal…you know I know it’s all trash,” he said replying to a question.

He said America promoted “peaceful, secure, healthy, prosperous” Bangladesh, which was good for the country and its people.

The ambassador also praised Bangladesh’s ready-made clothing sector reforms in the wake of the worst-ever building collapse last year in April.

He called upon all countries, including Bangladesh, to come together to oppose the emerging threats of Islamic State (IS) militants in the Middle East.