US to continue supporting Bangladeshi people's aspirations for democracy: House Foreign Affairs Committee chair

The US will continue to support the Bangladeshi people's aspirations for democracy, said US Congressman and Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Gregory W Meeks.

"Bangladesh is a critical partner. I support the [US] State Department's calls to investigate reports of violence and accountability for those found responsible for undermining the vote," he said in a post in X, formerly known as Twitter, published on Tuesday (9 January). 

Meeks, also an eminent lawyer, has been a US representative of the Democratic Party from New York since 1998 and has been chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs since 2021.

The statement was published on the verified X handle of the House Foreign Affairs and included the US Embassy Dhaka's X post with the US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller's statement. 

Earlier on Monday (8 January), the US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said the recently held national elections in Bangladesh "were not free or fair".

"The United States shares the view with other observers that these elections were not free or fair, and we regret that not all parties participated," Miller's statement read. 

Washington has been concerned by "the arrests of thousands of political opposition members and by reports of irregularities on election day," the statement added. 

Miller also said the US condemns the violence that took place during elections and in the months leading up to it.

"We encourage the Government of Bangladesh to credibly investigate reports of violence and to hold perpetrators accountable.  We also urge all political parties to reject violence," the statement read. 

"The United States supports the people of Bangladesh and their aspirations for democracy, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of expression.  The United States notes the Awami League (AL) party won a majority of seats in the 7 January 2024 parliamentary elections," the statement also read. 

"Looking ahead, the United States remains committed to partnering with Bangladesh to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, to supporting human rights and civil society in Bangladesh, and to deepening our people-to-people and economic ties," it said.

Since October of last year, the US government has said they are "closely monitoring" developments in Bangladesh leading up to the elections.

In May last year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the new visa policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) ("3C") of the Immigration and Nationality Act to support Bangladesh's goal of holding free, fair, and peaceful national elections. 

Under this policy, the United States would restrict the issuance of visas for any Bangladeshi individual believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh. 

The US government notified the Bangladesh government of this decision on 3 May 2023.