Some members of the US Congress have called for sanctions against the Bangladeshi authorities under Sheikh Hasina, who fled the prime ministership. But the US government is pleased that a new interim government has been appointed in the country.
The interim government, led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in on Thursday with a view to holding elections in the Asian country.
Bangladesh was rocked by demonstrations and violence last month after student protests against quotas that would allocate most state jobs to certain groups. The demonstrations turned into a campaign to oust Hasina, who won her fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition and which the US State Department said was not free and fair.
Hasina’s flight from the country followed the killing of at least 300 people, mostly students, during the suppression of the demonstrations.
“Bangladeshi leaders who orchestrated this brutal crackdown must be held accountable, so while we continue to work to support a peaceful and democratic Bangladesh, we urge the administration to sanction General Secretary Quader and Home Minister Khan,” said US Senator Van Hollen, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The letter sent to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for sanctions against the officials in question. “I welcome the swearing in of Dr Muhammad Yunus to lead the interim government in Bangladesh. The United States supports Yunus’ call for calm and peace,” Blinken said on social media.
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