Public announcement of US visa policy humiliating for Bangladesh: Ex-diplomat

The official announcement that the US visa policy has come into effect was humiliating and unacceptable for Bangladesh, said speakers at the roundtable discussion organised by the Editors Guild Bangladesh on Saturday.

"The US can deny anyone's entry to their country but why did they make a public announcement? The announcement is humiliating and embarrassing for us and not acceptable," said Munshi Faiz Ahmad, a former diplomat, at the programme titled "Polls Ahead: Which direction is politics going?" in the capital on Saturday.

"Is their [the US] election flawless? No. Their elections have controversies too," he added.

Ali Imam Majumder, a former cabinet secretary, "There was a time people would eagerly wait for Dhaka University Teachers Association's statement in a critical situation like calling for a free and fair election. Does anything exist now like they did before? We [civil society, media] all have taken our positions as partisans."

He said, "Once a reliable administration has now moved far away from people's trust and belief. Deputy commissioners are now seeking votes for ruling party men. Such administrative collapse was never expected."

Munira Khan, president of the Free Election Movement Association, said, "Is the European Union transparent? Is it believable that they would not send their observers to Bangladesh for insufficient budget?"

Mojammel Babu, president of Editors Guild, said, "The United States'  human rights starts from Adilur Rahman's false report and there is no space for human rights violation during the Liberation War, human rights violation on 15 August 1975, and the attack on 21 August. We have to forget all of these events according to the US prescription."

"If all the political parties participated in the 2014 national elections we would not fall into such a crisis now. If the election boycott and parliament boycott continues, the country will move towards a de-political situation," said Brigadier General (retired) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, a former election commissioner.