Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has done a remarkable job souring relations with the United States this year.  Her anti-democratic impulses, abuses of human rights, and gratuitous attacks on the U.S. are starting to have a significant impact on bilateral relations.  These tragedies are the larger context in which the persecution of Professor Muhammad Yunus is taking place. 

The most significant development was the announcement on May 24 by Secretary of State Blinken that the U.S. will “restrict the issuance of visas for any Bangladeshi individual, believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh.“ It continues, “This includes current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of pro-government and opposition political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services.”  The entire announcement can be found here.

Already, there are reports that elites in the country are stepping back from following orders that might get them or their family members banned from visiting the United States. 

Secretary Blinken mentioned in his statement that the Bangladeshi government was informed of this decision on May 3, weeks prior to the public announcement, as a courtesy.  This may go a long way to explaining some of the unhinged commentary by the PM about the U.S. since then. 

More recently, criticism of Bangladesh’s PM and ruling party took a bipartisan turn when six conservative Republican Congressman wrote to President Biden urging that democracy, human rights, and minority rights be defended in Bangladesh given that all have been under attack recently.  It was noteworthy that the letter, which is reproduced in full below, ended with these explosive words: “We request appropriate measures to give Bangladesh their best chance for free elections, including stricter individual sanctions, banning Bangladesh law enforcement and military personnel from participating in UN peacekeeping missions.”

Bangladesh has been sending a large number of peacekeepers abroad for many years, and these assignments bring considerable financial resources and prestige to the country.  Bangladeshis have served with honor in many difficult environments.  To have this opportunity to serve the global community taken away would be a significant blow to the country. 

The letter was authenticated when a member of the Protect Yunus Campaign called one of the Congressman’s offices to confirm that it was not a fake.

In the meantime, the  Economist has again published commentary on the PM’s misrule in this article, whose subtitle says it all: The PM’s “tragic past threatens Bangladesh’s future.”  Despite the challenges foreign journalists face in getting into the country to report from there, it is good to see the Economist continuing to cover this story. 

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Text of Republican Congressmen’s Letter (Update: since this post was originally published, the Congressmen have published a press release and the letter — now dated May 25 — online).

May 17, 2023

President Joseph Biden

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We request urgent action to stop the human rights abuses by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazad of Bangladesh, and to give the people of Bangladesh the best possible chance for free and fair parliamentary elections to be scheduled this fall.

Various NGOs have documented hundreds of instances of human rights abuses by the government of Sheikh Hasina since she assumed power in January 2009 — including reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, and even the United Nations – that show Hasina’s government has increasingly repudiated democratic systems, perpetrated widespread abuse against its citizens, conducted torture, committed extrajudicial killings, jailed joumalists, disappeared opponents, and assaulted or killed peaceful protesters. The well-documented abuses by the Hasina government are not confined to her political opponents; the government also has persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Since Sheikh Hasina’s rise to power, the Hindu population has been halved. Looting and burning of households, destruction of temples and religious idols, murder, rape, and forced religious conversion are causing Hindus to flee Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina’s government also has persecuted Bangladesh’s minority Christian population — burning and looting places of worship, jailing pastors, and breaking up families when religious conversion occurs.

In recent months, tens of thousands’ of peaceful protesters have demonstrated for fair and free elections, which are the people’s only hope for a change in the Hasina government. In response, Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the major perpetrator of torture, disappearances, and extra judicial killings in Bangladesh, have arrested, intimidated, and even killed peaceful demonstrators. The RAB has been characterized as a government “Death Squad” by numerous NGO’s including Human Rights Watch.

In a recent investigation by German state broadcaster DW and Sweden-based news agency Netra News, two whistleblowers and former members of the RAB, confessed that these incidents of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances could not be possible without the Home Minister and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s approval.

The U.S. government designated RAB a “serious human rights abuser” more than a year ago and sanctioned several law enforcement authorities responsible for many of the killings and other atrocities. Yet, the Hasina regime has only intensified its systemic repression of the people of Bangladesh since sanctions were imposed. The sanctions by the U.S. have not done enough to slow the flagrant human rights violations and democratic backsliding of Sheikh Hasina’s government.

In addition to crimes against their own people, Hasina’s misconduct encourages other bad actors in South Asia to make common alliance. and hurts America’s national security interests as they gang together and draw closer to China and Russia.

We request appropriate measures to give Bangladesh their best chance for free elections, including stricter individual sanctions, banning Bangladesh law enforcement and military personnel from participating in UN peacekeeping missions.

Respectfully,

Scott Perry (PA-10)

Member of Congress

Bob Good (VA-05)

Member of Congress

Barry Moore (AL-02)

Member of Congress

Tim Burchett (TN-02)

Member of Congress

Warren Davidson (OH-08)

Member of Congress

Keith Self (TX-03)

Member of Congress

Note: There were footnotes in the original letter for some of the sources cited, but they do not appear in this online version thought they can be seen in the PDF version posted by Congressman Good.