DHAKA, 6 September 2004 — A senior US official has offered Washington’s assistance in stamping out terrorism in Bangladesh. The offer came during talks between US State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator Joseph Cofer Black and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia here yesterday.
Black, who is on a two-day visit to Dhaka, said the administration of US President George W. Bush appreciated Bangladesh’s anti-terrorism stand at home and abroad.
Addressing a press conference in Dhaka later, Black noted there was a “disturbing trend of accelerating political violence in Bangladesh and that we encourage the government to act swiftly and fairly to apprehend the criminals responsible for this heinous act.”
“We also urge all Bangladeshis to resolve their political differences peacefully and lawfully,” he added.
Black told the news conference he was not, contrary to reports, in Dhaka to investigate an attack on an opposition rally. “I came for consultations with the government officials on global and regional terrorism issues,” he said.
Referring to the Aug. 21 bomb blasts at the Awami League rally in Dhaka, the former CIA official said measures taken by the Bangladesh government following the attack, including the formation of a judicial commission of inquiry, were “timely, in the right direction and very appropriate”.
It proves the government’s determination to hunt down the culprits and the “farsightedness” of the prime minister, Black was quoted as saying.
Black, who flew in from Pakistan, said the US was also happy to assist Bangladesh government in the probe. He also carried a letter from US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The firm US backing for Zia’s initiative to involve the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Interpol and various agencies in the probe came as her archrival and opposition leader Hasina Wajed rejected the measures and refused to cooperate with the probe because of its “pro-government bias”.
Earlier, Black held meetings with Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan and Hasina.
Khan said: “We are all involved in a fight against terrorism. It is the common goal of both our governments to combat terrorism anywhere in the world.”
Black declined comment after his meeting with Hasina, but her political secretary Saber Hossain Chowdhury told reporters they discussed the rally blasts.
During the hour-long meeting with Hasina at her Sudha Sadan residence, Black said his country wants to see the real perpetrators of the Aug. 21 attack identified and put on trial, Chowdhury said.
He said said Awami League leaders briefed Black about recent developments which put Bangladesh on “a fight for its existence”.
