Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen advised the media to not ask questions regarding politics and other internal matters of the country to foreign ambassadors, claiming such questions prompt the ambassadors to comment on Bangladesh’s internal affairs.
The minister said this to the reporters at his office on Tuesday when asked about the comments made by US ambassador Peter Haas about Bangladesh’s next parliament elections.
“You (the media) made him (Haas) say this. The poor guy (Peter Haas) is forced to answer such questions. It’s better if you guys don’t demand answers from foreigners. You should come to us with such questions. You go to them (foreign ambassadors), that’s why they make such statements,” Abdul Momen said.
The foreign minister further said, “Due to our colonial mindset, we prefer something when it comes from a foreigner. That’s why we go to them. We have to come out of this habit,” he added.
“Democracy is different in different countries. Bangladesh is a leader in democracy. In the Indian sub-continent, we adopted democracy in the sixth century. In 1971, we shed blood for democracy, three million people laid down their lives," the foreign minister said.
“Has any other country in the world done this? In this country, we have protested whenever the people’s voice has been muzzled, whenever their democratic rights have been snatched away,” Abdul Momen said.
He continued, “When genocide happened in this country, no one came to help us. When genocide took place in Myanmar, no one gave refuge to the displaced people. Who gave them refuge, it was Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina opened our borders. She upheld democracy.”
Abdul Momen said, “The current government is committed to hold a free, fair and transparent election and stands against death of any citizen owing to election violence. We are trying to make sure that no one dies.”
“There is good and bad in every country’s democracy. It’s not always perfect. It’s a process. Through continued efforts, democracy matures. We have some weaknesses. We are trying to work out how we can work on those flaws. But that doesn’t mean that their (democracy) is the best. Even they have flaws, problems”
When asked if the government will issue a statement to tell foreign ambassadors to refrain from commenting on Bangladesh’s elections, Abdul Momen said, “We believe, the diplomats in our country are matured. They are respected individuals. We believe they will abide by diplomatic etiquette.”