‘Outrageous move’: Bangladeshi premier slams US sanctions on elite force

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday heavily criticized the US government for imposing sanctions on the country’s elite security force and its officials, calling it an “outrageous move.”

“I do not know if they (the US) got shocked by the successes of RAB (Rapid Action Battalion). But Bangladesh made success in those fields; this is the fact. And, I think it is an outrageous move to impose sanctions on RAB in that case,” Hasina said.

Her remarks came via video link during a ceremony in the RAB headquarters in Dhaka marking its 18th foundation anniversary.

She praised the RAB for its success in countering militancy, drugs, pirates and terrorists, and humanitarian support for the citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founded in 2004, the RAB is a joint task force of Bangladesh comprising members of the police, army, navy, air force, and border guards with the mandate to maintain internal security and gather intelligence.

Last December, the US Treasury Department imposed human rights abuse-related sanctions on Benazir Ahmed, Bangladesh’s current police chief and former head of the RAB, and six other current and former officials of the battalion, including its director general, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

Hasina blamed the US for killing innocent people in its own country, referring to the incidents where Black Americans were killed and assaulted at the hands of the US police.

“If someone commits such a crime in the US or if someone commits crime in the name of maintaining law and order, they are not punished.

“But Bangladesh is the only country in the world where we do ensure legal punishment to anyone whether they are police, RAB or whoever if they are found guilty or commit crime," the premier asserted.

It is “unfortunate” that the US imposed sanctions against some members of the RAB “without any reason or a proper case,” said Hasina, leader of the ruling Awami League party.

The government, meanwhile, continues to urge the US to lift the sanctions.

Earlier, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen wrote to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, requesting the easing of sanctions, saying that Bangladesh will address the issues related to improving human rights.

The Bangladeshi government has already appointed a lobbyist organization to lift the ban.