Dhaka warns 13 foreign envoys for ‘violating diplomatic norms’
Furthermore, they have been warned against ”violating diplomatic norms” by bypassing the government and acting without objectivity and impartiality, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam
The government has expressed displeasure to 13 foreign envoys in Dhaka for what it says was their "undiplomatic behaviour" regarding statements on the attack on Hero Alom during the Dhaka-17 by-polls on 17 July.
Furthermore, they have been warned against "violating diplomatic norms" by acting without objectivity and impartiality and bypassing the government, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told the media yesterday after a meeting with the ambassadors and high commissioners of the 13 foreign missions at the state guest house Padma in Dhaka.
The envoys were invited, not summoned, the state minister clarified. Earlier, the ministry had summoned the United Nations resident coordinator in Dhaka over the same reason, he added.
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The envoys have been told that they broke "diplomatic norms" by issuing the joint statement regarding the "unexpected incident" centring on the recent attack on Hero Alom, he told reporters.
"We have advised them to be constructive by reminding them of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and warned them that disregard for objectivity, impartiality and impartiality will only create a crisis of mutual trust."
"We have told them that it was an isolated incident which cannot be used to judge that day's peaceful, fair and free elections," Shahriar said.
Mohammad A Arafat, the winner of the by-polls, and Khorshed Alam, secretary of the Maritime Affairs unit of the foreign ministry, were also present at the meeting with the envoys.
In response to a question, Shahriar said, "Four or five of them [invited envoys] spoke. They basically tried to explain that it was not done for any other purpose but to support our election process. They felt that it was a part of the continuation of the continuous engagement that they have with us.
"But we refuted the argument, saying the Vienna Convention clearly states that an ambassador's first point of contact should be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We always appreciate their communication with the media. But on any matter, they should first contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and let us know."
Replying to another question, he said, "We will send today's briefing to the capitals of the respective countries. We will also instruct our embassies to deliver copies of it to the foreign offices of the respective countries."
Asked if there was any political tension due to the statement of these countries and the invitation to them on the contrary, he replied in the negative.
"There are the European Union, the United Kingdom, several countries in Europe involved here and the Honourable Prime Minister is now visiting one of these countries. And you must know by now that the working relations of friendship can and will go ahead despite such things," he added.
Stating that Bangladesh has good relations with each of these countries, he said, "There are attempts, ill-attempts from various quarters ahead of the elections. This may have happened as a result, it may have happened due to someone's over-enthusiasm. We believe that this happened in the case of the local representative of the United Nations."
Asked if the ministry was satisfied with the diplomats' explanations, Shahriar said, "In the brief statement they failed to mention that we were able to arrest two persons the day before the date on which they issued it. There are many short-comings in the statement and it is contrary to the Vienna Convention."
The foreign ministry had earlier summoned or invited foreign diplomats for explaining their activities or statements over various issues. Asked whether those moves yielded any outcome, the state minister said, "I think we have got results. If you do an analysis for different countries, you will see it."
Shahriar highlighted that there was no violence in the by-election to Dhaka-17 constituency.
The state minister said, "Asharaful Alom observed the election by roaming freely in various centres throughout the day. He neither suffered any untoward incident, nor did he make any complaint till the end of the polls.
"Other candidates also did not complain of any kind of violence or any other irregularities. So, only a last-minute isolated incident at a centre presented by a handful of diplomats can never reflect a day-long peaceful election. In giving a quick response, they did not give due importance to the objectivity of their assessment."
The joint statement of the envoys had called for a full investigation and accountability for the perpetrators of the assault on independent candidate Hero Alom.
The joint statement was signed by the embassies and high commissions of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and the delegation of the European Union.
The state minister said the ambassadors were invited, not summoned and letters are being sent today to the respective capitals of the countries, especially the Foreign Office.
This incident will not affect the relationship with each country, assured Md Shahriar Alam while adding such warnings are nothing new.
What experts say
When asked about the probable outcome of summoning 13 ambassadors, former foreign secretary Md Touhid Hossain told TBS, "It's hard to say at the moment what the outcome will be. But it will depend a lot on what our government will do next. I don't think they [foreign envoys] were unprepared for this call.
"They must have said what they said in the context of their government policies. It may be a violation of the Geneva Convention, why say it about internal affairs. But now a fine line has been created between internal affairs and external affairs. If the human rights issue is an internal issue, then international resources can be concerned about it, it is global."
He pointed out that the policy of these countries is that they will promote human rights and democracy. Based on that, they take or have taken their position.
However, it is a little unusual that 13 countries have expressed their position through the embassy of a country in one paper, he observed, adding, "This is because there is some kind of coordination among Western countries, they use that time as an opportunity. They think that maybe they can do it and it won't be a problem for them."
"And of course they did it as a matter of policy, I don't think they did it individually. I don't think the 13 ambassadors decided on their own to do it," he added.
He further remarked, "Some things are better to be clear. Western countries are definitely interested in the upcoming election and they are keeping an eye on it. I don't think Hero Alom's issues are separate from that. What happened with Hero Alom does send a very good message about the fairness of the elections. Hero Alom is a very ordinary candidate, no challenge to the government, and yet he was attacked...."
"They have expressed their concern because they want good elections. There is no point in arguing whether it is right or wrong. They have done it according to their government's policy. They have considered the issue important," he added.
M Humayun Kabir, former Bangladesh ambassador to the USA, told TBS, "A few days ago, the UN' resident coordinator was summoned in a similar matter. The UN spokesperson, however, supported the position of the resident representative in Dhaka."
"In essence, their position is strong against what we want to say, and the United Nations is supporting their representative. In that context, it can be seen as a precedent that it will not be confined to only those who have been summoned. It can go as far as their capital. If that happens, there might be some kind of reaction," he added.
He observed that the government should deal with these issues more carefully to avoid entering into a risky position, especially in the present context.
"There are two reasons. Firstly, we have economic difficulties on a global scale, and since there is an election ahead, being a bit cautious and patient with these matters may be better," he added.
He further stated, "Since they are our partners and will remain so in the future, there are benefits and obligations. We can't just take the benefits without the obligations, that's not how it works."
"If we believe that any change in relationships with them won't cause any inconvenience, then we can make decisions according to our beliefs. But if we consider their words important, we will have to take their perspectives into consideration. And doing that might be best in the context of mutual benefit for both parties," Humayun concluded.
Such violence has no place in democratic process: US embassy
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday said that the mission joined other countries to issue the statement over the attack on Hero Alom in line with its policy to ensure a fair election in Bangladesh.
"As we have said many times, we support Bangladesh's goal of holding free, fair, and peaceful elections. To that end, we joined with other foreign missions to condemn the violence against Hero Alom and to call for a full investigation and bring the perpetrators to account," US Embassy spokesperson Bryan Schiller said in a press statement.
"We note that a number of arrests have been made in the case. Such violence has no place in the democratic process," he added.
