On December 14, 2022, US Ambassador Peter Haas faced a serious security threat in Dhaka from rowdy groups associated with the ruling party in Bangladesh. In Washington, Admiral John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House is said to have expressed concerns and confirmed the United States’ determination to secure its envoys abroad.
In 2018, U.S. Ambassador Marcia Bernicat faced similar harassment from elements of the ruling Awami League Party of Bangladesh.
The present incident occurred when Ambassador Haas went to meet Hazera Khatun and Sanjida Islam to express sympathy for their missing family member Sajedul Islam Sumon, a local leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who has been missing since 2013. Khatun and Sanjida, mother and sister of the victim, are founders of a human rights organization called Mayer Dak, or Mothers’ Call. This organization demands access to information regarding the whereabouts of the relatives of its members who have become victims of enforced disappearances since 2009. U.S. State Department official Lisa Johnson was with Mr. Haas at the time of the incident.
In keeping with President Joe Biden’s stated foreign policy objectives, Ambassador Haas has been vocal about ensuring human rights, democracy, election security and peaceful political activities in Bangladesh. It caused discomfort in the corridors of power, because the Awami League under Sheikh Hasina has been continuing its grip on authority since 2009 through election fraud and fascist means.
Learning of the Ambassador’s visit, ruling Awami Party activists and a rival group styled itself as Mayer Kanna, or Mothers’ Cry, seeking redress for their family members, mostly lower ranking airmen who had faced judicial action for their participation in a bloody attempted takeover during in 1977, a BNP time. Mayer Kanna is said to be sponsored by the ruling authority as a counterweight to Mayer Dak.
Hearing the disturbance created by the Awami elements, the U.S. envoy discontinued the meeting and quickly left the place under police escort. The group attempted to harass the Ambassador during his departure. The Ambassador immediately lodged a personal complaint to the Bangladesh Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, who ironically feigned ignorance of the Ambassador’s program. According to Sanjida, law enforcement officials visited the place in advance for two days to ensure security aspects and the very presence of the Mayer Kanna group proved the government’s advance knowledge of the event.
The Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) strongly condemns the harassment to the U.S. Ambassador in Bangladesh and requests the U.S. administration to take appropriate action with the government of Bangladesh.