US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hand with Bangladesh counterpart Mahmood Ali (C) as US ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat (2R) looks on following Kerry’s arrival at Dhaka airport on August 29, 2016.
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Visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the US wants to join forces with Bangladesh in the fight against terrorism and expressed the desire for additional intelligence sharing between the security agencies of both countries.
But the one-day trip is expected to focus on mounting concerns of Islamist violence in the impoverished nation, after gunmen last month attacked an upscale cafe in Dhaka and killed 22 people, mainly foreigners.
Hasina’s government denies the IS group has a presence in Bangladesh, instead blaming the JMB and other local militant groups for a recent wave of bloodshed.
“The Dhaka attack did create a strong impression for many in the US and elsewhere that if left to fester, ISIS will plant roots in South Asia”, said Amarnath Amarasingam, a postdoctoral fellow at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.
“Perhaps the media would do us all a service if they didn’t cover it quite as much”, he said.
“I understand your sensitivity, the issue is under review”, Kerry said yesterday.
Kerry rejected that criticism, saying he does not believe that “the government of a Bangladesh has its head in the sand”.
According to analysts, the visit takes place amid the perception that the USA is not happy with the incumbent government following the last parliamentary elections that Washington did not find “credible” as BNP-led opposition boycotted the vote.
“So I’m confident that our assistance to Bangladesh will increasingly be created to help the government address terrorism threats from domestic and trans-national organizations”, he said.
“It has arguably taken its eye off the ball even as this threat has begun to directly affect Americans”, Kugelman said. Chowdhury is reported to have been the subject of a profile in an Islamic State journal called Dabiq that identified him as its top operative in Bangladesh.
The foreign ministry on Tuesday said the issue of repatriation of the “self-confessed” convicted killer of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the United States was raised and discussed during his brief visit to Dhaka on Monday.
But labour activists say they still face a lack of access to factories and that the government fails to register unions, which would give them the legal right to represent workers.
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He hoped the USA and Bangladesh would be able to build additional capacity for effective counterterrorism efforts. He will also visit a garment factory and Bangabandhu National Museum. Kerry was making his first visit to Bangladesh. His armored SUV hit a gate in front of the U.S. embassy, but he was not hurt.
