AL lies will strain foreign ties, cautions BNP

Bangladesh’s diplomatic ties with the UK may get strained as the government “lied” over British Prime Minister David Cameron’s comments on the Jan 5 polls, the BNP fears.

UK had expressed dismay over the Jan 5 polls boycotted by the BNP and its allies.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went to London on a three-day visit last week and had a meeting with Cameron.

The foreign minister told reporters that Cameron had termed the Jan 5 polls ‘a matter of the past’.

In his briefing, AH Mahmood Ali claimed the British prime minister had told Hasina that, “We need to look to the future. The UK wants to have close relations with Bangladesh. The British government will continue to work together with Bangladesh government."

However, BNP Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury claims Ali’s statement contradicted the one issued by Cameron’s spokesperson.

“Nowhere does the statement say that [the Jan 5 polls] have become a thing of the past,” Chowdhury claimed.

“Such lies are contradictory to diplomatic etiquette and might lead to a crisis in our bilateral ties,” the former foreign secretary said.

He claimed the UK and the European Union’s stance on the Jan 5 polls was unchanged.

“That election was acceptable neither to the people [of Bangladesh] nor to them (the UK and EU). They have been advocating for an early election participated by all parties,” said Chowdhury.

He alleged that similar “confusing” information was publicised about President Md Abdul Hamid’s meeting with the UN secretary general.

“The UN clarified the matter the following day issuing a separate statement,” he said.

Chowdhury claimed former Foreign Minister Dipu Moni’s dubbing Hasina’s meeting with the Saudi King “the first by any Bangladeshi prime minister” was a lie.

“The prime minister had met the Saudi King four times during the BNP’s tenure,” he said.

The former diplomat said “unrest” in the government was prompting this misrepresentation.

“Presenting contradictory information on meetings with heads of foreign states and international organisations would only have a negative impact on the country’s image,” Chowdhury cautioned.