Bangladesh Prime Minister Accuses US of Plotting Regime Change

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Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused the United States on Monday of trying to eliminate democracy in the country and introducing a non-democratic government, according to bdnews24. Hasina made these comments in Parliament after Washington criticized her party, the Awami League, on human rights issues. Last December, several former and current leaders of the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite paramilitary unit in Bangladesh, were sanctioned by the US for their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings on behalf of the government. American Ambassador Peter Haas also met families of alleged victims of enforced disappearances under Hasina’s rule. In February, Derek Chollet, the US State Department counselor, expressed concern about the decline of democracy in Bangladesh, warning that this would limit American cooperation with Dhaka and urging Hasina to ensure free and fair elections.

Hasina’s criticism of the US comes as tensions between the two countries rise. She accused Washington of seeking to overthrow governments, particularly in Muslim countries. She also criticized the Bangla-language newspaper Prothom Alo, calling it an enemy of the Awami League, democracy, and the people. This followed the arrest of Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams on charges of writing false news on rising food prices in Bangladesh. The arrest was made under the country’s Digital Security Act, which critics have denounced as a flawed and draconian law with provisions for jail sentences of up to 14 years.

Re-reported from the story originally published in Scroll