Following holding of the January 7 elections in Bangladesh, which have been free, fair and peaceful, ultra-Islamist, anti-Semite, Hindu and Bharat hating Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and it’s ideological cohorts have in one hand launched “India Out” movement xeroxing Maldives and in another started intensifying cyber warfare on social media where BNP lobbyists David Bergman, Jon Danilowicz, William B Milam as well BNP’s representative in the US, Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey have started contacted Western media outlets and PR agencies – offering them cash in exchange for publication of reports and articles against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ruling Awami League and key figures in the civil-military administration and judiciary.
Immediately after the January 7 elections, in a statement the US Department of State said: “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 party won a majority of seats in the January 7, 2024 parliamentary elections. The United States remains concerned by the arrests of thousands of political opposition members and by reports of irregularities on elections day. 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…”
Commenting on the January 7 election, Britain in its statement said: “Not all political parties took part in the elections. The Bangladeshi people did not therefore have the fullest range of voting options…”
In this case, the United Kingdom’s comment of “all political parties” means ultra-Islamist Bangladesh Nationalist Party, pro-jihadist Jamaat-e-Islami and other radical Islamic forces in Bangladesh, which did not participate in the election as BNP in particular was expecting return to power through undemocratic process with active support from Biden administration. It may be mentioned here that Hunter Biden was hired by the BNP as lobbyist almost two years ago.
Although it was anticipated that Washington may force other EU nations to echo the notion that already has been expressed by the United Kingdom, EU nations did not step into it. Instead it issued a statement saying “European Union takes note of the outcome of the Parliamentary elections, which were held in Bangladesh last Sunday [January 7] and reiterates that the long-term EU-Bangladesh partnership is underpinned by the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law”.
Most importantly, the EU did not repeat BNP-Jamaat’s propaganda stating the January 7 election was not free and fair.
But unfortunately, Biden administration has already started pushing forward its fresher agenda with the ulterior agenda of planting Islamists, jihadists and Caliphate-mongers into power – if necessary, through an undemocratic process and turn Bangladesh into its colony under the garb of a neo-Taliban state.
It may also be mentioned here that, whenever Washington’s scary intelligence establishments set up a blueprint of toppling any targeted government or regime in a foreign country, they first of all join hands with several local elements – including political parties, civil society, think tanks, media and others. Once they fail to topple the government through street protests, anarchism, and terrorist acts, they immediately switch to alternative options of staging coup d’état by funding and utilizing mercenaries and even terrorist and jihadist groups.
If we carefully scrutinize the above statement, it will be proved – the Biden administration has taken an oxymoronic policy towards Bangladesh. Or maybe even worse.
The US Secretary of State has asked the government of Bangladesh to credibly investigate the “reports of violence” but at the same time has condemned the “arrest of political opposition members”. This certainly is an oxymoronic piece of advice.
The BNP has staged multiple demonstrations in Bangladesh before without any opposition from the government, but in the recent times when violence has resurfaced, the government was compelled to take legal actions – arrest those involved in terrorist and subversive acts for the sake of national security. Now, is the Biden Admin advising to find innocent “scapegoats” for crimes the BNP and its allies are committing, exonerating Tarique Rahman and other members of the BNP who are without any reasonable doubt, and even based on past evidence, directing these violent activities?
The US State Department’s statement also said “foreign observers” have maintained that the election in Bangladesh was not free and fair. This is an unsubstantiated claim – if not totally ridiculous. Which “foreign observers” are they referring to? What are the metrics for “free” and “fair” for the US? We can definitely ask this question because immediately after the election, a large number of election observers from the United States as well as other nations have categorically said, the January 7 general election was free and fair. Even none of the anti-government and critical media outlets in Bangladesh have made any such claims stating the election was not free and fair. Instead, they have been focusing on low voter turnout – which is slightly above forty percent.
Meanwhile, in a post on X (former Twitter), BNP lobbyist Jon Danilowicz wrote: “In July, @StateDept imposed visa restrictions on Cambodians who undermined democracy and paused certain foreign aid. Given the May visa policy on #Bangladesh and the Jan 7 elections (which the US noted were not free nor fair) when can we expect similar action?”
It may be mentioned here that William B Milam and Jon Danilowicz did not register under FARA as lobbyists which is a clear violation of the law, for which they may face imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of up to US$250,000, or both.
Biden administration’s failed policy is pushing every country in the Indo-Pacific away from the US, just as had the Nixon administration’s support towards the Bangladesh Genocide. Now it has to resort to making “imaginary friends” like Pakistan in this region, who no longer go to the “social gatherings” that the Biden admin hosts. If the Biden administration keeps pursuing its agenda of denigrating Bangladesh, it will only help remind the Bangladeshi people of its role during the 1971 war. The cordial relations and the mutual trust that have since developed will all go in vain. And in the future, people of Bangladesh may turn against the US altogether and future administrations in Bangladesh will find it exceedingly hard to rebuild an alliance with the US without violently going against the will of its own people.
The Biden administration is delusional to think that the BNP will safeguard US interests in Bangladesh. Under BNP, Bangladesh became a safe haven for terrorism, and if they were to return to power, it would have soon turned into an Afghanistan, and rather than being a US ally it would have become a threat not only to the US, but also to India as the BNP government had actively funded and aided the insurgency groups in Northeast Bharat.
These counterproductive measures by the Biden admin not only goes against the interests of Indo-Pacific countries, but against the will of the people: democratization, development, and denial of space to terrorists, all three of which according, to Moriarty and the past US administrations, Tarique Rahman and the BNP had jeopardized.With these facts, for Bangladesh’s newly formed government, the next 90 days would be extremely crucial as BNP and its cronies shall intensify anti-Awami League bids – through massive media campaigns and lobbyist efforts with the ulterior motive of getting the government bombarded with visa restrictions and sanctions. In this case, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and junior minister for Information Mohammad Ali Arafat shall have to play an effective role in their respective areas. If they succeed in doing so – Bangladesh has no reason to be afraid of green-faced Biden administration’s red-eyes. If they fail to perform – Bangladesh may face catastrophic consequences.
