After the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, foreign diplomats’ noses in Bangladesh’s politics became shamefully public for the first time. What should the government do, how to do it – these instructions keep coming from abroad. With time, there has been some change, but there is still interference even after 50 years of independence.
As for the second time, the ‘over-enthusiastic and over-active activities’ of some ambassadors in the run-up to the 12th general elections are often reported in the media. Now, they start to interfere in the coming 2024 national election.
All sides should think deeply about how and why foreign diplomats are poking their noses into the internal affairs of a free, sovereign country without following the internationally prescribed etiquette.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to all foreign embassies, UN offices and international organizations in Dhaka last July, calling for adherence to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Principles of Consular Relations.
All diplomats in Dhaka must know that their conduct is governed by the Vienna Convention. What they can and cannot do is clearly stated there. Foreign diplomats posted in India do not go beyond the Convention.
According to it, ambassadors shall speak, work, and assist in the development of the countries’ mutual relations. This is diplomatic etiquette at its finest. They have no way of going beyond it. Not talking about the internal affairs of other countries is certainly part of the prescribed and universally practised diplomatic etiquette.
Foreign ambassadors posted to an independent state must inform its Foreign Office where they will go, who they will talk to or whom they will invite. Sad but true, it is sometimes not accepted.Again, the kind of comments that the diplomats of some countries posted in Dhaka have been making recently about the internal political affairs of this country are without a doubt unseemly and out of line with international etiquette.
We live in an age of multilateral relations, globalization, technological advancement, diplomatic rapprochement and constant media surveillance. Diplomats should keep this in mind. Among the political parties and politicians of this country who invite foreign ambassadors to interfere in internal affairs, they should also remember that the solution to political problems is through mutual discussion and systematic protest. There is no democratic solution in complaining about the country’s internal affairs to foreigners.
It is mainly because of their complaints that foreigners are getting an opportunity to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. And the Election Commission (EC) is responsible for conducting the election around which there are so many complaints. The EC has constitutional and legal powers to conduct free and fair elections. Conducting fair elections and institutionalizing democratic systems requires coexistence between the government and opposition political parties in the interest of the country and democracy.
The people of Bangladesh, support free and peaceful elections as well. A fresh, unbiased election commission has already been established. Everyone needs to trust that the Election Commission is independent. There is no reason to worry about the remarks of foreign envoys beforehand. It’s not new for other nations to meddle in Bangladeshi politics, especially after Bangabandhu’s murder, when all of the directives for what to do and how to do it came from overseas.
Bangladeshi politicians country have a strangely knee- ` jerk mentality towards diplomats. When they see foreign diplomats, their enthusiasm increases several times. If something happens, these foreigners are called and complained to. They don’t do much to complain to the people, to the voters of the country. They feel comfortable complaining to foreign diplomats. Which shouldn’t be the case.
The responsibility of our journalists is not less in this regard. Journalists get confused when they see foreign diplomats. He was anxious to hear something from their mouths. “How do you think the next election of Bangladesh will be?” “Is there a fair election environment?” “What is the future of democracy in Bangladesh?”
Journalists of our country are bombarded with such questions whenever they see any foreign diplomat. This is a major weakness of our country’s journalism profession. Many people don’t know who to respect, what to ask, how to ask the right question and get the answer.
In no other country in the world do foreign diplomats pay so much attention to journalists. Our politicians are mainly responsible for this. They are the ones who have allowed foreign diplomats to talk about politics and internal affairs.
When elections come, foreign ambassadors themselves become active, so again different political parties make them active. The open activity of foreign diplomats is still going on, and may continue in the future. Leaders of the party in power don’t like diplomats running around much; But if they are in the opposition, they again protest to the0.
Foreign diplomats are making various comments about the mutual distrust of the political parties. Recently, the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, has expressed doubts about the fair elections in Bangladesh. Which usually involves unwanted snooping on the internal affairs.
However, in fact, the political weakness of the country gives diplomats an opportunity to increase activity. Details of what they discuss when meeting politicians are not known. Parties meeting them did not divulge details.
There are various crises in the politics of our neighbouring country India. There are many types of disagreements, including on human rights violations. But they are one on the country. They do not allow anyone outside to talk about it. Bangladeshis should learn. Bangladesh is an independent country. It has an elected government. There is a consistent direction in its governance. We will decide how the election will be held in Bangladesh, who will monitor it and how. The intervention of foreign representatives cannot be accepted.
There is no such precedent anywhere else. It may have arisen because the two main political parties want to take the blessings of foreigners to come to power. It is not unusual for ambassadors to meet them. Ambassadors talk to everyone in their country’s interests. But it does not fall under their jurisdiction to comment on any internal matter.
Just a few months ago, Bangladesh and the USA celebrated half a century of diplomatic relations. The USA wants to develop multilateral democracy in Bangladesh. It is one of the pillars of its foreign policy. The other two pillars are human rights and counter-terrorism. Whether it really wants to expand democracy and human rights, it has said this many times. But words and deeds are not the same. If they were, their position would have been different on the issue of Israeli aggression in Palestine, or iin relations with Saudi Arabia or other Gulf countries.
In an article in Foreign Policy last year, Wilson Center’s South Asia expert Michael Kugelman commented, “the Biden administration has made expanding democracy a major goal of its foreign policy.”
The current US-Bangladesh relationship is excellent. They have a good understanding on most questions. After China, the USA is Bangladesh’s main trading partner. Both are interested in increasing this relationship. They have been building strategic relations for years to prevent terrorism, with the aim of annual ‘partnership dialogues’ This year too, there have been 16 bilateral meetings. The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister also viewed the USA’s measures regarding RAB positively.
Foreign diplomats are becoming more involved in the approaching parliamentary elections daily. All diplomats are still discussing the election. Elections are a matter of national interest. It is terrible that foreign diplomats have meddled in our nation’s domestic issues.
The situation in Bangladesh is the subject of a “strategic” discussion between Russia and the USA. Moscow claims the USA is using human rights as a tool to meddle. Washington, on the other hand, has voiced worries about the safety of its ambassador and other diplomatic personnel. The US is also making comments about wanting free and fair elections.
Bangladesh maintains constant contact with the USA to improve ties US. Every day, communication takes place on some level. Bangladesh’s stance of “friendliness with all, animosity with none” has not changed.
Bangladesh doesn’t want a discussion about our nation’s internal politics among the superpowers. Bangladesh opposes this type of heat. Itneed to tell both parties to stop talking about it. Bangladeshis must find solutions to their own issues.
The people of Bangladesh, support free and peaceful elections as well. A fresh, unbiased election commission has already been established. Everyone needs to trust that the Election Commission is independent. There is no reason to worry about the remarks of foreign envoys beforehand. It’s not new for other nations to meddle in Bangladeshi politics, especially after Bangabandhu’s murder, when all of the directives for what to do and how to do it came from overseas.
