Canada has not listed the BNP as a “terrorist entity”, the High Commission in Dhaka says.
“Canada’s list of terrorist entities is a key tool to support its efforts to suppress terrorism. Canada has not listed the BNP as a terrorist entity,” the High Commission confirmed.
The question came following Canadian court’s observation on BNP while rejecting asylum petitions of its activists.
The High Commission, however, declined to make any comment on the asylum issue.
“Under the Canadian system, individuals seeking protection are referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, an independent tribunal. Canada’s judiciary operates independently. The High Commission of Canada cannot comment on individual cases,” it said.
A Canadian court rejected the asylum petition of a Bangladeshi national, Mohammad Jypsed Ibne Haque, for his involvement with the opposition BNP politics.
The court said he was “inadmissible” to Canada on “security grounds” under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) because “he was a member of an organization that there were reasonable grounds to believe engages, has engaged or will engage in acts referred to in IRPA paragraph 34(1)(b), namely, engaging in or instigating the ‘subversion by force of any government.’”
According to the court proceedings, Jypsed Haque claimed to fear persecution by the Awami League due to his membership and active role in BNP politics between January 2011 and November 2015.
Earlier, on May 12 in 2017, the Canadian Court rejected an appeal for asylum of a leader of Jubo Dal, the BNP’s youth wing, saying that there was sufficient cause to believe “the BNP is an organization that engages, has engaged or will engage in terrorism.” During that case, the applicant requested his name be withheld from the verdict.
Those issues came to the fore before the general elections in Bangladesh to be held by January. The ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP are at loggerheads over election oversight.
The Western countries have been calling for an environment to hold free and fair elections.
“Canada calls on all political parties in Bangladesh to contribute to meaningful dialogue allowing for free and fair elections,” the High Commission said, replying to a question.
