US Embassy contests home minister’s claim that Haas queried road closures on BNP rally day

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas on Sunday expressed the importance of peaceful demonstrations and interference-free participation in the political process during his meeting with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at the Secretariat.

The subject of road closures in Dhaka on October 28, the day opposition BNP is scheduled to hold a grand rally in the capital, was not discussed, according to the spokesperson of United States Embassy in Dhaka.

That claim contradicts the home minister’s recollection of the discussion he had with the ambassador. Talking to reporters after the meeting with Haas at his office in the Secretariat, Asaduzzaman said the US envoy wanted to know whether the government would blockade all entry points of Dhaka ahead of the BNP‍‍`s rally on October 28.

“The ambassador at the meeting wanted to know that the BNP may bring a number of people to Dhaka on the day of their mega rally. Whether we will close all the entry gates of Dhaka or take any other steps,” he said.

The home minister said he answered that the government doesn‍‍`t have any programs like this.

“We said that we don’t have such plans. We believe the political agenda they have given will be observed peacefully. If they carry out their programs peacefully we don’t have any say on this,” he said.

“I said to the ambassador that why will we close the entry points? Everyone needs to come to Dhaka, a patient needs to come to Dhaka, if someone wants to go abroad, he needs to come to Dhaka - everything is Dhaka-centric,” he added.

On expectations from the BNP, the home minister said, “All we‍‍`re going to say is that they don‍‍`t indulge in any violence, and that they will keep the movement areas free. That‍‍`s our request, we‍‍`ve already told them that.”

The unusually specific nature of the query by Haas, as relayed by the home minister, invited questions on whether lines of diplomatic etiquette were being maintained, when an ambassador of a foreign country has questions regarding security arrangements for a domestic political party’s program.

“That‍‍`s the question I want to ask you (to journalists). My point is that he came, he is the ambassador of a country, he asked questions, we‍‍`ve answered,” said Asaduzzaman.

“It‍‍`s not up to me to see if he can do it or not. For that, we have our foreign minister, we have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he added.

The US ambassador had come to discuss not only the October 28 program of the BNP but also the Rohingya crisis and other issues, the home minister said.

Before leaving the Secretariat following his meeting with the home boss, the US ambassador told reporters, "I had a meeting with the home minister. We hope that Durga Puja will be celebrated peacefully. We also hope that the political program scheduled for October 28 after Durga Puja will be peaceful and violence-free."

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said their party only plans to hold a grand rally amid a sea of its supporters and the general public in Dhaka on October 28, not stage an indefinite sit-in from the rally.