The United States assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, on Sunday conveyed to the government that the US wanted the next general elections in Bangladesh to be held in a free and fair manner while expressing its commitment to democracy.
He also expressed concern over misuse of the Digital Security Act 2018 during his meetings with ministers.
At a meeting with foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, the assistant secretary Lu said that the US was committed to democracy and human rights and offered suggestions whenever they saw any problems with these issues anywhere.
‘We have honest and open discussions with the [Bangladesh] foreign minister and the foreign secretary today. We have expressed that the United States is committed to democracy and human rights. We speak and offer suggestions whenever we see any problems and stand for freedom of speech and freedom of expression,’ Donald Lu said after his meetings at the foreign ministry.
He said that his visit to Bangladesh was aimed at strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries.
Momen said that he had informed Lu that the ruling Awami League also wanted the elections to be held in a free, fair and acceptable manner.
He said that the assistant secretary was assured that the government was taking steps so that the DSA was not misused in any way.
The foreign minister said that they had discussed a wide range of issues relating to energy, security cooperation, Indo-Pacific Strategy, labour rights, US sanctions and elections, among others.
The US assistant secretary also held a separate meeting with the state minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam.
Later in the afternoon, he held meetings with home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and law minister Anisul Huq at the Foreign Service Academy besides sitting with a group of representatives from the civil society and academics.
Lu arrived in Dhaka on Saturday evening on a two-day visit.
He flew in Dhaka from New Delhi after concluding a two-day visit in India on January 12 and 13, said officials concerned.
The Lu visit comes just a week after Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, the US National Security Council’s senior director for South Asia, visited Bangladesh.
Asked about the US sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion and seven of its former and serving officials, Lu said that they had a good discussion on the RAB.
Referring to the Human Rights Watch annual report 2023, he said that there was ‘tremendous progress’ in reducing extrajudicial killings after the US sanctions.
‘We recognise this. This is an amazing work. It shows that RAB is able to carry out its counterterrorism efforts and important functions while respecting human rights,’ he told reporters at the foreign ministry.
