“We humbly request you to change the current course of action to ensure a violence-free secular democratic future for Bangladesh,” 17 Bangladeshi American elected officials stated in a letter to President Joe Biden last week, reported TBS News.
The letter was sent as a response to the increase in terrorism committed by the far-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP-Jamaat), according to the Dhaka Tribune.
The BNP-Jamaat have repeatedly targeted Hindus and opposition activists, the letter said, by burning houses, raping Hindu women, and evicting Hindus. This violence performed by the BNP-Jamaat led the 17 officials to support “Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s strategy in dealing with terrorism in Bangladesh and South Asia.“
The officials stated that, in the past, some US lawmakers vocalized anti-Bangladesh rhetoric, which has been “damaging [to] US-Bangladesh relations”. Thus, they requested that the US “take steps that reflect the historical context of Bangladesh’s War of Liberation” instead of implementing policies that further encourage violence and terrorism.
“The vivid examples of American foreign policy failure are Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya. We don’t want that to happen in Bangladesh,” the officials wrote in the letter. Bangladesh previously held four elections in 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2008. However, the officials stated that free elections do not guarantee democratic and peaceful outcomes because of the two government-sponsored terrorist attacks that occurred during the 2001 and 2008 elections.
The Bangladeshi-American officials that the political climate in Bangladesh will not change unless ”stakeholders find a sustainable solution guaranteeing the security, safety and post-election political participation of the minorities and political dissidents,” reported the Daily Sun.
The signatories are: elected Bangladeshi-American officials — Councilman Dr. Nuran Nabi, NJ; Mayor Mahabubul Alam Tayub, PA; State Representative Abul Khan, NH; Councilman Abu Ahmed Musa, MI; and Councilman Nurul Hasan, PA; activists — Prof. ABM Nasir, NC, of Shompriti Forum; engineer Rana Hasan Mahmud, CA and engineer Shikrity Barua, NY, of USA Bangabandhu Parishad; Golam Mostafa Khan Miraz, NY, of Bangladesh Liberation War Veterans 1971, USA Inc.; Nazrul Alam and engineer Tasnim Salam Aslam, CA, of California Bangabandhu Parishad; Fahim Reza Noor, NY, of Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee, USA; engineer Ahad Ahmed, MI and Ali Ahmed Farish, MI of Michigan Bangabandhu Parishad; Zakaria Choudhury, NY of USA Committee for Democratic and Secular Bangladesh; Rumi Kabir and Mahabubur Rahman Bhuiyan, GA of Georgia Bangabandhu Parishad; Khurshid Anwar Bablu of Bangladesh Freedom Fighters Solidarity Council, USA; Nasrin Munna of Bangladesh Freedom Fighters Solidarity Council, USA; Dr. Abdul Baten of Muktijoddha Sangsad; Sofeda Basu, MA of Massachusetts Bangabandhu Parishad; Morshed Alam, Democratic leader, NY; Zahedul Mahmud Zami, CA of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad, California Command Council; Abu Taher Bir Pratik and Kazi Shamim, PA of Pennsylvania Bangabandhu Parishad; group of academics — Prof Ziauddin Ahmed, PA; Prof Mizan R Miah, IL; Prof Jamil Talukdar, WI; Prof Shahadat Hossain, NY; Nurannabi Choudhury, NJ of South New Jersey Bangabandhu Parishad; and Tawfik Soleman Tuhin and Zamiul Belal, CA of Bangabandhu Cultural Organisation.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
Happy Lunar New Year. We’re almost there. We are now 68% of our goal of meeting our $5,000 matching grant challenge with less than 7 full days to go. Every donation will be matched dollar for dollar through Sunday for up to $5,000. All donations will go toward fully funding an editor position at AsAmNews and to support our reporting. You can make your tax-deductible donations here via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo. Stock donations and donations via DAFs are also welcomed.
Please also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.