There were restrictions on contacting BNP-Jamaat over past 10 years: Chinese ambassador

Chinese ambassador Yao Wen said China was unable to maintain contact with the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami over the last 10 years of the previous government.

Obstacles were created at that time which hindered communication with these two parties, said Yao Wen who is posted in Dhaka.

The Chinese ambassador made this comment today, Tuesday, at the “DCAB Talk” event held at the National Press Club in Dhaka. The event was organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB).

Delegations from the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have recently visited China.
When asked about the matter, the Chinese ambassador said, “To speak frankly, over the past 10 years, there were obstacles to maintaining contact with the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. But now the time has come, so we have taken the initiative to re-establish communication. They (the parties) want to resume such exchanges and restore ties.”

On the query about how political parties were restricted from engaging during the previous Awami League government, Yao Wen said he believes the journalists present are well aware of the situation over the past few years.

He refrained from making specific comments, adding that the journalists understand what kind of circumstances he faced.

Last month, a high-level delegation from the BNP, led by the party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, visited China at the invitation of the Communist Party of China. Meanwhile, this month, a delegation from Jamaat-e-Islami, led by the party’s Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, also visited China.

The event was presided over by DCAB president AKM Moinuddin, with a welcome speech delivered by the organisation’s general secretary, Arifuzzaman Mamun.