As the country’s bickering political parties seem nowhere close to any understanding over the polls-time government, a sub-committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress is set to organise a hearing on the political situation in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
The sub-committee on Asia and the Pacific will arrange the hearing, titled ‘Bangladesh in Turmoil: A Nation on the Brink?’ to be held at Rayburn House Office Building, according to a web release of the office of House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ chairman Ed Royce.
Ali Riaz, professor and chairman, Department of Politics and Government, Illinois State University and a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, major general (retd) ANM Muniruzzaman, President of Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies and John Sifton, Asia advocacy director, Human Rights Watch will participate in the hearing as witnesses.
US representative Steve Chabot, chairman of the sub-committee on Asia and the Pacific, will also take part in the hearing.
On the hearing, chairman Chabot said: “Bangladesh has long been considered a moderate, Muslim-majority nation in South Asia. However, today Bangladesh is in the midst of a struggle for its national identity, pitting secular moderates against religious fundamentalists.’
He said the extreme political tension that has gripped Bangladesh is threatening the next year’s parliamentary elections.
‘This political turmoil has already claimed one victim — Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal – resulting in proceedings that do not meet international standards. The United States has a lot at stake in Bangladesh. This hearing will be an important opportunity to examine the cause of Bangladesh’s political tensions, the escalation of human rights abuses, and how this all impacts security interests in the region.’
On November 5, Steve Chabot visited Dhaka and met top political leaders during his visit and discussed political issues.
-With UNB/New Age input
