Dhaka: The United States sees itself as the guardian of the world, but it isn’t, says Shammi Ahmed, the International Affairs Secretary of Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League, as she dismisses Washington’s new visa policy for the country.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on 24 May that the country will restrict visas for Bangladesh nationals believed to have “undermined the democratic election process”.
Blinken said current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of the ruling and opposition political parties, as well as law enforcement officials, the judiciary and security services would be on the US radar, and if they are found to be undermining the democratic election process, their visas would be restricted.
“This is a meaningless statement,” said Ahmed in an interview to ThePrint. “America sees itself like a guardian to the world. It is not. Saving the world is a Hollywood fantasy. Captain America is fiction. Reality is, we can manage our domestic affairs rather well without America lecturing us how to.”
In her role as Awami League’s International Affairs Secretary, Ahmed is in charge of finetuning the party’s international policies, liaising with foreign embassies, and engaging with foreign diplomats.
Blinken’s announcement of the new visa policy has come at a time when Bangladesh is gearing up for the next general elections in January 2024, and there are allegations of a government crackdown on media and free speech.
The Awami League has won three consecutive elections since 2008, and Sheikh Hasina has been in power for the last 15 years.
Her critics say she wins by cracking down on opposition parties, mostly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Khaleda Zia, jailing their workers and supporters and stifling any form of dissent in the political space or civil society.
Shammi Ahmed rejects the charges.
“Sheikh Hasina is a global icon. There is no secret to her success, no political strategy, except the love for her people and the iron will to take Bangladesh forward,” Ahmed said.
“Show me another political leader who has survived 19 assassination attempts and yet not lost the nerve to be in public life. After she lost her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, and most of her family to assassination, during Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s rule, there were two assassination attempts on her own life,” she added.
When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was in power from 1991 to 1996, Ahmed said, “there were four attempts to kill Hasina, four during the Awami League tenure from 1996 to 2001, again four during the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-Jamaat government in 2001-2006, and one during the military-backed caretaker government and four reported assassination attempts during this tenure of Awami League”.
“And yet America lectures on about democracy! They conveniently ignore the inimical forces within the country that try to subvert democracy and push Bangladesh into an abyss.”
Shammi Ahmed says the government and the administration are not worried about the US visa restrictions.
“If we do not get to go to the US, so what! When Bangladeshis travel to America, they spend money there. We help their economy. We live in a global village where people and goods and services flow free,” she said.
“We are dependent on each other. Imposing such restrictions does not bode well for America. And it is not just Bangladesh that America is meddling in. They have been talking about India’s internal matters as well. I like how India has started responding to American overreach,” she added.
‘India-Bangladesh, how good neighbours should be’
Talking about India and foreign relations, there is a lot of talk about the camaraderie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina. What powers this friendship?
“Under Prime Minister Modi and Sheikh Hasina, political ties between the two countries have gotten stronger. India and Bangladesh will reshape global political dynamics,” she said.
“The two countries have set an example of how good neighbours should be. But let me tell you, it is not just Modi and Hasina and BJP and Awami League. India and Bangladesh share historical ties,” she added, talking about how “India helped us during the Liberation War of 1971”.
“With your eastern state of West Bengal, we share the same language, as well as culture and eating habits. With the rest of India, too, we share a close relationship,” Ahmed said.
“There was a time, during the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat rule, when our land was used to fuel terror against India. But Modi and Hasina are mature politicians. They have ensured mistakes of the past are not repeated,” she added.
“If we stand together, we can achieve not just what is good for our countries, but have a greater say in the affairs of the world.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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