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Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has justified Bangladesh's vote against a UN resolution, seeking collection and preservation of evidence of war crimes committed by Sri Lanka's armed forces and the LTTE.
Bangladesh has a foreign policy of supporting the neighbours and not supporting any country-specific or "politically motivated" resolution, Momen said today when he was asked why Bangladesh voted against the UN resolution when the country itself is a victim of genocide.
He was addressing a virtual press briefing on the D-8 Summit, beginning on April 5.
The minister said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were a militant separatist group fighting for an independent homeland for Hindu Tamils in North-eastern Sri Lanka.
The LTTE was a force having trained army and naval ships, which means it was a war. Besides, Sri Lanka has done its own investigation. Many of the LTTE members have migrated abroad and are now making such demands of investigation, he said.
The group was defeated in 2009. In May 2010, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the then president of Sri Lanka, appointed the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to assess the decades old conflict.
In a vote on March 23, the UN Human Rights Council has been given a mandate to collect and preserve information and evidence of crimes related to Sri Lanka's civil war.
In the resolution brought by Britain on behalf of a group of countries, 22 countries voted in favour of the text, 11 opposed and 14 abstained, including Sri Lanka's neighbours, India and Nepal, and most Muslim majority countries. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Uzbekistan voted against the motion.
On the question of Bangladesh defence attaché's joining the Myanmar Armed Forces Day military parade in Naypyidaw on March 27, Momen said it was a routine programme and there was no harm for the Bangladesh defence attaché to join.
India, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Russian representatives also attended the occasion.
However, there has been criticism from the Rohingya, some ousted elected leaders of Myanmar and media about the countries sending their representatives to the Myanmar army programme, as the military took control of the power from the elected government since February 1 and some 400 civilians were killed since then.
Many of the western countries have already imposed sanctions against Myanmar and more are on the way.
Momen said, "We are observing the situation [Myanmar]."
The issue is important for the fact that Bangladesh is sheltering about a million Rohingya since Myanmar's military campaign during Aung San Suu Kyi's regime in 2017. Many thousands were killed, women raped, Rohingya houses burnt. Bangladesh is supporting the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
In oblique reference to the Western countries, Foreign Minister Momen said, "They did not do much when the Rohingya faced genocide in 2017 and before. Now, they are very vocal against the military. We have seen how genocide was committed during Suu Kyi's government."
He also said many of the Western countries' business with Myanmar have increased over the years, despite the fact that Myanmar is accused of genocide.
www.thedailystar.net
Bangladesh has a foreign policy of supporting the neighbours and not supporting any country-specific or "politically motivated" resolution, Momen said today when he was asked why Bangladesh voted against the UN resolution when the country itself is a victim of genocide.
He was addressing a virtual press briefing on the D-8 Summit, beginning on April 5.
The minister said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were a militant separatist group fighting for an independent homeland for Hindu Tamils in North-eastern Sri Lanka.
The LTTE was a force having trained army and naval ships, which means it was a war. Besides, Sri Lanka has done its own investigation. Many of the LTTE members have migrated abroad and are now making such demands of investigation, he said.
The group was defeated in 2009. In May 2010, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the then president of Sri Lanka, appointed the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to assess the decades old conflict.
In a vote on March 23, the UN Human Rights Council has been given a mandate to collect and preserve information and evidence of crimes related to Sri Lanka's civil war.
In the resolution brought by Britain on behalf of a group of countries, 22 countries voted in favour of the text, 11 opposed and 14 abstained, including Sri Lanka's neighbours, India and Nepal, and most Muslim majority countries. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Uzbekistan voted against the motion.
On the question of Bangladesh defence attaché's joining the Myanmar Armed Forces Day military parade in Naypyidaw on March 27, Momen said it was a routine programme and there was no harm for the Bangladesh defence attaché to join.
India, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Russian representatives also attended the occasion.
However, there has been criticism from the Rohingya, some ousted elected leaders of Myanmar and media about the countries sending their representatives to the Myanmar army programme, as the military took control of the power from the elected government since February 1 and some 400 civilians were killed since then.
Many of the western countries have already imposed sanctions against Myanmar and more are on the way.
Momen said, "We are observing the situation [Myanmar]."
The issue is important for the fact that Bangladesh is sheltering about a million Rohingya since Myanmar's military campaign during Aung San Suu Kyi's regime in 2017. Many thousands were killed, women raped, Rohingya houses burnt. Bangladesh is supporting the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
In oblique reference to the Western countries, Foreign Minister Momen said, "They did not do much when the Rohingya faced genocide in 2017 and before. Now, they are very vocal against the military. We have seen how genocide was committed during Suu Kyi's government."
He also said many of the Western countries' business with Myanmar have increased over the years, despite the fact that Myanmar is accused of genocide.
Sri Lanka war crimes: Momen clears govt stance over UN resolution
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has justified Bangladesh’s vote against a UN resolution, seeking collection and preservation of evidence of war crimes committed by Sri Lanka’s armed forces and the LTTE.
