Human rights are at the center of US foreign policy: US embassy

The US embassy in Dhaka has said they take "seriously" all allegations of human rights violations and regularly meets with a wide variety of human rights organisations, reports UNB.

"The US embassy had not received any prior communication from Mayer Kanna over the last several years," said a US embassy spokesperson on Sunday in light of various articles and statements surrounding ambassador Haas's meeting with Mayer Dak on 14 December.

Providing more information to the media in an email, the spokesperson said human rights are at the "center" of US foreign policy.

The US ambassador ended his "prescheduled" meeting with "Mayer Dak" on 14 December due to "security concerns".

"The meeting was interrupted by protestors, who attempted to enter the building where the ambassador was located. Other protestors surrounded the ambassador's vehicle," said the spokesperson.

He said they have raised this matter at the "highest levels" of the Bangladesh government, as well as with the Bangladesh embassy in Washington, DC.

Earlier, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday said there had been no lack of security when US ambassador Peter Haas visited Dhaka's Shaheenbagh area recently.
 

While talking to reporters at the Secretariat, he said police personnel rushed to the spot immediately.

Earlier, foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen said the situation that US ambassador Peter Haas faced could not be seen as a "security threat".

"There is no scope to see it as a security threat," he told reporters at the foreign service academy on Thursday evening, noting that the incident will have no impact on Dhaka-Washington relations.