British High Commissioner has done uncourteous work
British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson said: "We expect fair and credible elections in Bangladesh in accordance with the 1972 constitution.
Dickson added that the 1972 pledge to protect human rights must be fulfilled.
The British High Commissioner made the remarks at the Meet the Reporters program organized by Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Sunday (February 14).
Former Foreign Secretary Ambassador Touhid Hossain told Barta24 that the British High Commissioner could not make a comment like this. This is undoubtedly an uncourteous act.
"Uncourteous work has been going on in our country for the last 40 years," he said. I don't see their fault there. We also have faults.
The British High Commissioner could have said, we want fair and credible elections. He could say that. Many people comment on us. But he had no reason to bring up the issue of the constitution of 1972. He cannot say anything about the constitution of '72.
Touhid Hossain said, however, if the election is held in accordance with the constitution of 1972, the last few elections will be held in the same way because there was no caretaker government in the constitution of '72.
According to the constitution of 1972, the first election was rigged, we know that. People whom they voted for did not win. Media coup had started in small since 1973.
The former foreign secretary said, "We go to the basics. Whenever we have everything going well, people will not talk back." Whenever we are not running our country properly or the law is not being obeyed properly, those of us who are weak, strong, they will say a word or two. Otherwise, it was necessary to call the High Commissioner and say something.
Former Ambassador M Humayun Kabir said, "As far as I understand, the British High Commissioner spoke in the light of the Constitution of 1972 because it was there that the rights of the people of Bangladesh were first mentioned." He wanted to talk about the basic spirit of the constitution that was written after independence. There is nothing wrong with that.
In today's world everyone can talk about human rights. When I was ambassador, we, as a member state of the United Nations, talked about the rights of people in all countries.
Dhaka University Professor of International Relations Imtiaz Ahmed said,
Such statements do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Ambassador or the High Commissioner. There are questions about how much he knows about the constitution. However, the High Commissioner could not make a comment on how the election will be held in Bangladesh.
When asked about this, several former diplomats declined to comment.