US sanctions
Withdrawal of sanctions: Momen seeks support of US lawmakers
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has reiterated the government's willingness to work closely with the US to find ways to waive sanctions on Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and its officials on a priority basis and sought the US Congress' support.
From February 23 to March 2, Dr Momen paid a visit to New York to attend official meetings at the United Nations.
Read: Sanctions: Bangladesh close to a decision on how it’ll proceed on legal front
During this visit, he held meetings with Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) on February 28 and with Congressman James P McGovern (D-MA), the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, on March 1.
Due to Covid-related protocols, both meetings took place on a virtual platform.
Expressing concern about the recent US sanctions on RAB and its seven current and former senior officials, Dr Momen informed the US lawmakers that Bangladesh had always shown its readiness to deal with specific allegations against RAB members.
He mentioned that RAB has emerged as the most efficient law enforcement agency in Bangladesh over the years, and has been at the forefront of combating terrorism, violent extremism, drug and human trafficking, and other transnational crimes.
Dr Momen acknowledged the strong US humanitarian and political support to Bangladesh in dealing with the Rohingya crisis and sending Covid vaccines.
Also, he requested the US lawmakers to persuade Myanmar in all possible ways to create a safe and secure environment in Rakhine State and take back all the forcibly displaced Rohingya people, temporarily staying in Bangladesh, to their homeland in Myanmar.
The US lawmakers commended Bangladesh's generosity in hosting this huge number of Rohingyas and said that they would continue their efforts in this regard.
Also, the foreign minister briefed the US lawmakers about the impressive socio-economic development that has taken place in Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Read: Don’t believe wholesale sanctions on Bangladesh warranted: Congressman Meeks
The lawmakers highly appreciated Bangladesh's tremendous development, said the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington.
Dr Momen underscored the importance of further expanding the trade and investment relations between Bangladesh and the US, and deepening the excellent partnership in the coming days.
He invited both lawmakers to visit Bangladesh, along with congressional delegations, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
No possibility of expansion of sanctions: Shahriar
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Thursday said there is no possibility to expand the US sanctions beyond the existing individuals in Bangladesh, noting that it will not have any impact on other areas.
“There’s no impact of it (sanctions) in other areas. I can tell you very confidently. Even, there’s no possibility of US sanctions’ expansion,” he said referring to their greater engagement with the US over the last one month and trashed the rumors around.
While responding to questions from reporters at his office, the State Minister also referred to rumors spread by some quarters, including BNP-Jamaat, on imposing further sanctions by the United Nations and the European Union (EU) and cited the examples of how the UN spokesperson and EU Ambassador in Dhaka responded to media queries.
Also read: No US plan to impose sanctions on Bangladesh: Congressman Meeks
“We’ve done many things and we’re still working on many issues. We remain engaged since the US imposed sanctions on individuals,” he said, adding that one thing is very clear that the conspiracy hatched against the country by the conspirators did not work.
The State Minister said the government wants to cooperate with RAB and will further strengthen it; and termed the US sanctions “unfortunate” and “disproportionate” action.
He said it is their responsibility to protect RAB and its officers as they are the partners of many success stories on the security front. “We’re trying to know more why the sanctions were imposed.”
Also read: No impact on European business interest in Bangladesh, says EU envoy about sanctions
The State Minister said they have discussed with legal experts to explore the available avenues to withdraw the sanctions. “We’re looking into legal issues.”
Shahriar said they had a very effective meeting with the EU where they discussed how the relationship between Bangladesh and the EU will look like after 2026.
Dhaka waiting on Washington's response, open to suggestions
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said the government will try to rectify any weaknesses as Bangladesh looks for a response from the US on its call for withdrawal of sanctions.
"We are pretty open to it,” he told journalists at his office on Monday while talking about Dhaka’s position in response to the US sanctions on Rab and seven of its current and former officials.
The Foreign Minister wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken last month requesting him to withdraw the sanctions.
READ: It can't be resolved overnight, says FM Momen on US sanctions
Dr Momen said they will see why they are dissatisfied.
"Based on the information, we will try to rectify it," he said.
If they are dissatisfied because of false information, Dr Momen said, the government will provide the correct information and explain that they are acting on false information.
"Our assessment is that they will understand us," he said, adding that they (US) have a mature leadership.
Dr Momen said the government is awaiting US response. "When will the response come, not sure. Let it come, then we will see. We shared with them our position. Let us see how it comes up. We are always optimistic."
Asked about appointing a law firm that can work for withdrawal of the US sanctions, he said, "When and where legal process is required, we will involve it."
US sanctions on Rab offficals politically motivated, will encourage militancy: Quader
The US sanctions on the IGP and six Rab officiala have been politically motivated, Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said on Sunday adding that the decision will inspire terrorism and militancy.
At a briefing at his office in the Secretariat this morning Quader said Rab as an elite force has been professional in discharge of its work.
He recalled the contriversial US role during Bangladesh liberation war in 1971 and after assassinaton of Bangabandhu in 1975.
Yet Bangladesh did not allow these issues to stand on way of establishing friendly relations with Washington, he said.
Also read: Sanctions on Rab: Law Minister calls it ‘unfortunate’
He said the US move has hurt Bangladesh when it is celebrating 50 years of its indepence..
The two countries are working from their respective positions on multilateral issues including bilateral and common issues, he said.
Quader said that the Anti-Corruption Commission is playing an independent role in carrying out any investigation but it is unreasonable to impose sanctions on a force chief and former officers by making baseless allegations.
Speaking about human rights, the Awami League general secretary also said that such a decision is a kind of violation of human rights.
He urged them to first look into the human rights situation in their country first.
Obaidul Quader said that the death of George Floyd had shaken the whole world which raised the question about the human rights issue of the US administration.
Obaidul Quader said hat the UN itself had expressed concern over the issue of discrimination and oppression of blacks.
"Where millions of people die each year in gun attacks, the world has witnessed the tragic deaths of five people trying to seize Capital Hill after losing an election. The world has seen the face of American democracy and the face of their human rights," he also added.
Obaidul Quader said that Amnesty International had repeatedly pointed out the weakness of the United States in its indicators of internal democracy and protection of human rights.
Some of Bangabandhu's assassins are still hiding in America, war criminals have also fled there, said Awami League general secretary
Robert Reich, a former US senator of Labor said in a tweet that US law enforcement 984
there have been 8,800 extrajudicial killings by US law enforcement and about 1,000 people die without trial every year, according to various sources.
He said any comment on human rights is not acceptable where ordinary people take to the streets in different cities to protest against extrajudicial killings day after day.
Quader said, "We are sure that some anti-Bangladesh people and evil forces may have political motives behid the decision."
Obaidul Quader said that the people of the country think that their ban on a security force of Bangladesh is political and a despicable attempt to force Bangladesh to surrender to their state of slavery.
Also read: Sanctions on RAB: FM says impact on relations depends on US
Noting that no conspiracy against the people of Bangladesh created through the great liberation war has worked in the past, he added that Bangladesh has turned from a vacuum despite various international conspiracies.
In Palestine, when Israel indiscriminately destroys hundreds of homes, including helpless women and innocent children, by dropping missiles and violating human rights, US foreign policy is in favor of Israel, not even uttering a word.
He added that those responsible for the deaths and displacement of people in the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Yemen are giving the world a sense of human rights today.
Citing mutual trust and confidence as the basis of our friendly relations with the United States, Quader said Bangladesh hoped that the US administration would be more informed and careful in making decisions to advance the existing relationship between the people of the two countries.
He further added that there is an opportunity for any issue to be resolved through dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bangladesh has already summoned the US ambassador to express its anger and dissatisfaction, he hoped.
"We believe that the US administration will move away from this irrational and one-sided decision," he also hoped.
US itself is an extreme violator of human rights, says Hasan Mahmud
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud on Saturday stated the sanctions of the US on Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) are one-sided and invalid, saying, “Human rights is extremely violated in the US.”
The minister made the remark while replying to journalists at a program of the University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS) in the city’s Baridhara.
The United States on Friday imposed human rights-related sanctions on 15 individuals and 10 organizations on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.
Benzir Ahmed, current Inspector General of the Bangladesh Police and former Director-General of Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and six other individuals were among them, besides RAB as an organization.
Read: Sanctions on RAB: FM says impact on relations depends on US
The minister said the US also imposed sanctions on Narendra Modi but later he was given a red-carpet reception, which proves that such sanctions are in fact ineffective.
The minister also said that UN human rights experts urged the US government to end police torture and racial discrimination this year. The Guardian stated in an article that 55% of all deaths in police custody in the United States between 1980 and 2018 were "unreported" or "mislabeled," which means the exact cause of death was not disclosed.
Not only that, the world did not forget the tragic scene of a black man’s death at the hands of police on the streets of the United States last year, the information minister said.
“When Palestinian children hurled stones at Israelis, they fired at them. Above situation, the US has not imposed sanctions on the Israelis. On the contrary, if any country proposes condemnation of these human rights violations at the United Nations, the United States vetoes it."
So, it’s very clear that their ban is motivated, one-sided and ineffective, the minister stated.
Read: Dhaka trashes HR violation allegations against IGP, 6 others
However, Hassan Mahmoud said the United States is our development partner and our law enforcement and security forces have been working together to curb militancy and terrorism.
Vice-Chancellor of UITS Prof. Mohammad Solaiman, UITS Chairman and Founder of PHP Family Sufi Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan, deputy Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Dr ASM Maksud Kamal were present on the occasion.
It’s inevitable consequence of HR violations, BNP about US sanctions
BNP on Saturday described the US sanctions on Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and its seven current and former top officials as an inevitable consequence of serious violations of human rights.
“As per news published today (Saturday), sanctions have been imposed on Benazir Ahmed (current IGP) and the RAB chief. I don't think it's a surprise as I it's an inevitable consequence,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Speaking at a discussion, he also said those who violate human rights, snatch human rights and kill people have to face such a consequence.
The BNP leader said their party now wants to see whether the government takes action against those who are accused of violating human rights or remains silent as in the past.
Fakhrul said the US sanctions have also proved right what BNP has long been talking about the violations of human rights and killing and torturing of people by using the state machinery, including police and administration.
“What a shame it is that a country that likes the United States has imposed sanctions on our police and Rab chiefs. The reasons behind the sanctions are violation of human rights and unlawfully killing people and making many disappeared. They must be made accountable to people someday for such misdeeds.”
Read: Sanctions on RAB: FM says impact on relations depends on US
National People’s Party (NPP) arranged the discussion at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU), demanding BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s treatment abroad.
The United States on Friday imposed human rights-related sanctions on Benzir Ahmed, current Inspector General of the Bangladesh Police and former Director General of Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and six other individuals on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.
The US Department of State announced visa restrictions on Benazir Ahmed, which it says, due to his “involvement in gross violations of human rights” making him ineligible for entry into the United States.
RAB as an entity, Benzir Ahmed, and six other officials were designated by the Department of the Treasury under the Global Magnitsky sanctions programme in connection with serious human rights abuse, said the US Department of State.
Fakhrul said government officials and employees should remember that they are the servants of the state, not any individual or party. "It’s not their responsibility to do anything going beyond the constitution. Those who’re doing it will have to bear the consequences someday.”
Fakhrul said many people are siphoning off money abroad and making “second homes” in different countries, including Canada and Malaysia, by indulging in ‘plundering and corruption’. “They’ll also face the consequences and they won’t be able to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth as those will be confiscated.”
Fakhrul alleged that the government has put Bangladesh in an embarrassing situation as the USA did not invite the county to a virtual "Summit for Democracy held on Thursday hosted by Joe Biden.
He said the Awami League government is working in a planned way to establish a one-party rule by fully violating the constitution. “It’s the most grievous offence of the current government.”
Read: Dhaka trashes HR violation allegations against IGP, 6 others
The BNP leader alleged that the government has destroyed the political structure of the country by revoking the caretaker government system from the constitution by using the court.
Fakhrul said the ruling party leaders and ministers are indulging in widespread plundering and corruption as they have no accountability to people for lack of democracy.
He said Khaleda who has had immense contributions to the country and restoration of democracy in the country was convicted in “false cases’’ as part of a plot to eliminate her from politics.
The BNP leader said Khaleda is now seriously ill as she was not given proper treatment during her stay in jail. “She has now been pushed towards death by not allowing her to receive treatment. The government is doing so as it thinks there’ll remain no barrier to staying in power if Khaleda is eliminated. But it’s their wrong perception as BNP is getting organised under the leadership of Tarique Rahman.”
Fakhrul called upon all democratic political parties to get united putting aside divisions among them to wage a strong movement together with people for the restoration of democracy ousting the current ‘despotic’ regime thus paving the way for Khaleda’s treatment abroad.
Russia to expel 10 US diplomats in response to Washington
Russia on Friday responded in kind to a barrage of new U.S. sanctions, saying it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will add eight U.S. officials to its sanctions list and move to restrict and stop the activities of U.S. nongovernment organizations from interfering in Russia’s politics.
He said the Kremlin suggested that U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan follow the example of his Russian counterpart and head home for consultations. Russia will also move to deny the U.S. Embassy the possibility to hire personnel from Russia and third countries as support staff.
The moves follow the sanctions on Russia announced this week by the Biden administration.
While the U.S. wields the power to cripple the Russian economy, Moscow lacks levers to respond in kind, although it potentially could hurt American interests in many other ways around the globe.
Lavrov noted that while Russia could take “painful measures” against American business interests in Russia, it wouldn’t immediately move to do that
Russia has denied interfering in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and involvement in the SolarWind hack of federal agencies — the activities punished by the latest U.S. sanctions. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned of an “inevitable” retaliation, charging that “Washington should realize that it will have to pay a price for the degradation of bilateral ties.”
The U.S. on Thursday ordered 10 Russian diplomats expelled, targeted dozens of companies and people, and imposed new curbs on Russia’s ability to borrow money. Pundits had predicted that while Moscow would respond in kind to the expulsions, it would refrain from any other significant moves to avoid a further escalation.
Russia’s economic potential and its global reach are limited compared with the Soviet Union that competed with the U.S for international influence during the Cold War. Still, Russia’s nuclear arsenal and its leverage in many parts of the world make it a power that Washington needs to reckon with.
Aware of that, President Joe Biden called for de-escalating tensions and held the door open for cooperation with Russia in certain areas. Biden said he told Putin in Tuesday’s call that he chose not to impose tougher sanctions for now and proposed to meet in a third country in the summer.
Lavrov said the summit offer was being analyzed.
Also read: Sanctioned Russian IT firm was partner with Microsoft, IBM
While the new U.S. sanctions further limited Russia’s ability to borrow money by banning U.S. financial institutions from buying Russian government bonds directly from state institutions, they didn’t target the secondary market.
“It’s very important that there’re no sanctions on secondary debt because that means that non-U.S. persons can buy the debt and sell it to the U.S. persons,” said Tom Adshead, director of research at Macro-Advisory Ltd, an analytics and advisory company.
Tougher restrictions would also hurt Western businesses, inflict significant economic pain on the Russian population and allow Putin to rally anti-U.S. sentiments to shore up his rule.
Ramping up sanctions could eventually drive Russia into a corner and provoke even more reckless Kremlin action, such as a potential escalation in Ukraine, which has recently faced a surge in clashes with Russia-backed separatists in the east and a massive Russian troops buildup across the border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Paris on Friday to discuss the tensions with French President Emmanuel Macron. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to join them in a call later.
Fyodor Lukyanov, a top foreign policy expert who leads the Moscow-based Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, predicted Putin would likely accept Biden’s invitation to join next week’s call on climate change but could drag his feet on accepting the summit offer.
“There is no way to make any deals,” Lukyanov said. “There is a mutual antipathy and a total lack of trust.”
He charged that the only practical outcome of the summit could be an agreement to launch long and difficult talks on a replacement to the New START nuclear reduction agreement that Russia and the U.S. extended in February for another five years.
Lukyanov noted that the growing U.S. pressure will push Russia and China closer together in the long run.
Also read: Months after hack, US poised to announce sanctions on Russia
“Closer cooperation with China on coordinating actions to contain the United States will develop more quickly now as the Chinese are interested in that,” he said. While Russia lacks tools for a symmetrical answer to the U.S. sanctions, “it has ample capabilities to stimulate changes in the world order,” he added.
Konstantin Kosachev, the Kremlin-connected deputy speaker of the upper house of parliament, said that by hitting Russia with sanctions and proposing a summit at the same time, the U.S. sought to take a commanding stance.
“Russia’s consent would be interpreted as a reflection of its desire to soften the sanctions, allowing the U.S. to secure a dominant position at the meeting, while our refusal to meet would be a convenient pretext for more punitive measures,” Kosachev wrote on Facebook.
He argued that Russia should not rush to accept Biden’s summit offer.
“Revenge is a dish best served cold,” Kosachev wrote. “I believe the saying is quite adaptable to a situation when we talk not about revenge but a due answer to aggressive action by an opponent.”
Some predicted the U.S. sanctions could discourage Russia from cooperating with the U.S. on international crises.
“The Russian position will grow tougher on Syria, the Iranian nuclear deal and other issues,” Ivan Timofeev, program director at Russian International Affairs Council, said in a commentary. Instead of acting as a deterrent, he warned, the sanctions would “only anger Russia and make its policy even tougher.”
However, any attempt by Russia to undermine American interests would dangerously escalate tensions with the U.S. and trigger even harder sanctions — something the Kremlin certainly wants to avoid.
Despite the soaring tensions, Russia and the U.S. have shared interests in many global hot spots. For example, Moscow fears that instability could spread from Afghanistan to former Soviet republics in Central Asia, and it is interested in a political settlement there.
As for Iran, Moscow also doesn’t want to see it with nuclear weapons, despite its friendly ties with Tehran.
Lukyanov said that Russia wouldn’t try to use global hot spots to hurt the U.S. and would wait patiently to see them erode U.S. domination.
“It’s not a matter of playing the spoiler here or there,” he said. “The ongoing developments will help accelerate the process of consolidation of leading powers against the U.S. domination.”
US hits state-owned Myanmar gem firm with coup sanctions
The Biden administration on Thursday hit Myanmar’s junta with new sanctions in response to February’s coup in the Southeast Asian nation.
The State and Treasury departments announced they were imposing sanctions on the country’s main, state-owned gem company, Myanmar Gems Enterprise. The sanctions freeze any assets the firm holds in the U.S. or in U.S. jurisdictions and bar American citizens from doing business with it.
Also Read: Myanmar death toll mounts amid protests, military crackdown...
The company is a major exporter of gems and semi-precious stones like jade, which bring in significant amounts of revenue to government coffers.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the sanctions send “a clear signal to the military that the United States will keep increasing pressure on the regime’s revenue streams until it ceases its violence, releases all those unjustly detained, lifts martial law and the nationwide state of emergency, removes telecommunications restrictions, and restores Burma to the path of democracy.”
Also Read: Will Myanmar learn its lessons?
The U.S. and other Western nations have been steadily ramping up sanctions pressure on Myanmar, also known as Burma, since the Feb. 1 coup and subsequent deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
“The Burmese military regime has ignored the will of the people of Burma to restore the country’s path toward democracy and has continued to commit lethal attacks against protesters in addition to random attacks on bystanders,” Blinken said.
UN High Court to hear Iran’s case against US sanctions
The UN’s high court said Wednesday it has the jurisdiction to rule on a bid by Iran to overturn US sanctions that were reinstated during former President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The Court finds that it has jurisdic
Biden threatens sanctions on Myanmar after military coup
President Joe Biden on Monday threatened new sanctions on Myanmar after its military staged a coup and arrested the civilian leaders of its government, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.