Secular Citizens Bangladesh says 14 US congressmen's letter to UN triggered street violence in Dhaka

Secular Citizens Bangladesh, a newly emerged social media platform, have protested the recent letter from 14 congress members to the US envoy to UN, calling for "deployment of peacekeeping forces during the upcoming national election in Bangladesh."

"We, the citizens of Bangladesh, condemn your letter dated 27 July 2023. We believe that the letter is based on concoction, made with surmise and made with mala fide intention undeserving of the highest stature of US Congressmen," a statement from the platform reads.

"The letter to the Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, is a travesty since the letter is a violation to the House of Representatives' Practice and Congressional Standards as laid down by the Committee of Ethics," it says.

The statement further says, "The United States Supreme Court in a number of cases observed that the Members of the Congress have limited power to interfere with the internal issues of a foreign country under the US Constitution by the Congress Members."

"The practice of interfering with a sovereign state's internal matter is also prohibited under the UN Vienna Convention. The statements made in the letter dated July 27, 2023 are made on the basis of the reports made by one single organization of Bangladesh, i.e. Odhikar, whose NGO registration is revoked for spreading fake news on social media for creating disturbances in the country. This would be too risky to make statements on the basis of a single questionable source. It is stated that Odhikar's report is misleading and riddled with half-truths and dubious statements. We would humbly request you to verify the information in the future," the statement adds.

The statement also drew attention to street violence on 29 July 2023, saying: "We would kindly draw your attention towards the fact that as soon as the aforesaid letter was made public, the political activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) went rogue and made violent attacks on the law enforcing agency on July 29, 2023, as if the BNP activists wanted to establish the claims made in your letter. We humbly discourage such practices. Your letter is not only triggering violence on the streets affecting general people of Bangladesh, but also internationally affecting our image as a peaceful, law abiding and secular country."

"We want to reiterate your government's commitment towards a free and fair election in Bangladesh and would humbly request you to abide by the US Foreign Policy and to stand with the peaceful citizens of Bangladesh," the statement says.

Among others, the statement was signed by Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario CSC, Archbishop Bijoy D' Cruze OMI, Bishop Rev Mankin, Rev Martin Adhikary, Bishop Philip Adhikary, Dr Mihir Kumar Roy, Dr Asim Sarkar, Reymond Areng, Dr Suborno Barua, Barrister Proshanta Barua, Bhikkhu Sunandapriya and Barrister Tapas Kanti Baul.