Published : 16 Nov 2022, 06:43 PM
Updated : 16 Nov 2022, 06:43 PM
The Bangladesh government has summoned Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki, apparently reminding him of a Vienna convention that bars envoys from commenting on any country’s domestic affairs.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam took to social media on Wednesday to confirm the summons after the ambassador’s reported comments on the claims of election fraud in Bangladesh.
But Alam refrained from elaborating on what the foreign ministry said to the ambassador at the meeting in Dhaka.
“We do not believe that we have to provide all the details to the mass media,” he said. “We do not want to give further statements to the media on this matter.”
The state minister expressed his hope that upcoming bilateral talks between the Bangladeshi and Japanese prime ministers would “deepen the ties between the two countries and benefit their peoples”.
On Monday, the media reported that Ito Naoki had said during an event in Dhaka that he had heard claims “police officials were stuffing ballot boxes on the eve of election day” and that he had never heard anything similar in another country. He also expressed his hope for an election in which all parties took part.
“If some of you have forgotten: Article 41 paragraph 1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 reminds diplomats to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state and unequivocally restricts them from meddling in that nation's domestic affairs,” Alam wrote on Facebook and Twitter.
ENVOYS’ MEDDLING IS UNACCEPTABLE: AGRICULTURE MINISTER
Foreign envoys’ unsolicited comments on the internal affairs of Bangladesh would not be accepted, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque had said earlier on Wednesday.
“We don’t accept meddling in Bangladesh’s internal affairs, not only by the Japanese ambassador but also by any other envoy," the minister said. "They’ll be warned again," the minister told reporters after paying homage at the Mujibnagar Monument on Wednesday.
He said no one would be spared when it comes to the question of the country’s dignity.
