Tension over 10 Dec rally: We don't want conflict; will maintain maximum restraint: FM

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said the government does not want any kind of conflict and will maintain "maximum restraint" though many people want a dead body to get public sentiment.

"We don't want any sort of conflict. Sometimes there are instigations to get involved in conflict. There is a desire in some people to see a dead body. They are very happy when they see the dead body which brings public sentiment," he told reporters in Cox's Bazar.

Momen said the news regarding Wednesday's incident reached Washington before it had happened in Dhaka because of a Bangladeshi journalist who has access to the White House and the United Nations. "May be that's why the US was so prompt."  

He said like the US, Bangladesh also does not want to see any conflict. "We will maintain maximum restraint."

Momen said that the American government will not agree to large public meetings on the streets, even in front of the White House. "They will not allow meetings on the streets of Manhattan, New York. There is a rule and system."

He also said, "We don't want to obstruct our pedestrians."

The foreign minister said if the BNP wants to hold demonstration and rally, they can surely do it inside the hall or in the open field as well. "Because all the people of Bangladesh have the right to speak freely."

He said the government believes in freedom of speech and there is no such freedom like Bangladesh in other countries.

"We are concerned about reports of intimidation and political violence in Dhaka and call on everyone to respect the rule of law and to refrain from violence, harassment, and intimidation," US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas said in a message through the verified Facebook page of the embassy on Thursday.

He said they encourage government authorities to investigate these reports of violence and to protect the fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

The US Embassy also extended its condolences to the families of those killed and injured on Wednesday in Dhaka.