M Mushfiqul Fazal, State Department correspondent
The United States will continue to do what they can to support the basic aspiration of the people of Bangladesh, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the US National Security Council, said on Wednesday.
“We believe in a free and fair election in Bangladesh and we’ll continue to make that case,” said Kirby while this correspondent asked whether the US is stepping back from its position regarding holding a free, fair and credible election in Bangladesh at a briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington.
He further said, “We don’t take sides in foreign elections, and that policy doesn’t change in Bangladesh’s case either. We support a free and fair election. We’re going to continue, as the ambassador and his team will, to do what we can to support that basic aspiration of the people of Bangladesh.”
In another question asked by this correspondent about Russia’s allegation that US Ambassador in Bangladesh Peter Haas has “interfered in Bangladesh’s internal affairs,” Kirby said the allegation made by Russia is absolutely false.
Kirby said, “Back in the Navy we had a single two-syllable word to describe an allegation like that, which I will spare you from. I’ll just tell you that it’s absolutely false and the Russians know it’s false. This is just classic Russian propaganda. They know it’s false.”
He further said, “We want the same thing the Bangladeshi people want and that is free and fair elections. And that is what the ambassador wants, and his team will continue to work with all sectors of Bangladeshi society, including civil society, including engagement with opposition parties and individuals as well as the sitting government, to work hard to make sure that the democratic aspirations of the Bangladeshi people are respected. That is what we’re doing.”
MR/
