Washington (August 2, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Representatives Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Bill Keating (MA-09) led their colleagues today in a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing alarm at the declining state of democracy and human rights in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been experiencing deadly clashes between student protesters and state security forces across the country in recent weeks, shining light on the human rights abuses taking place under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The lawmakers wrote, “The Bangladeshi government has continued to take actions that undermine democratic processes, including by holding deeply flawed elections in January, failing to improve labor regulations, and, most recently, violently cracking down on demonstrations using guns, tear gas, and imposing a near-total shutdown of Internet services.”
The lawmakers continued, “Given these alarming and continuing trends, we hope that you will lead the U.S. Department of State in upholding the shared democratic principles that have long underpinned the U.S.-Bangladeshi relationship. The United States must condemn all acts of violence, ensure critical civil liberties, such as the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, are protected, and take action to hold complicit government officials accountable for the above abuses against the Bangladeshi people. Moreover, in order to prevent the further deterioration of democracy in Bangladesh, the United States must partner with the international community to support the right of the Bangladeshi people to a representative democratic government that upholds human rights and respects individual freedoms.
Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) co-signed the letter in the Senate, and Representatives Seth Moulton (MA-06), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Joe Wilson (SC-02), Dina Titus (NV-01), Grace Meng (NY-06), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Dan Kildee (MI-08), Barbara Lee (CA-12), and Delegate James Moylan (GU) co-signed the letter in the House of Representatives.
Senator Markey has long advocated for human rights protections in Bangladesh, including by joining his colleagues in sending a letterin January 2024 to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urging the Bangladeshi government to end its persistent harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus as well as its abuse of the justice system to target critics of the government more broadly. In December 2020, Senator Markey led his colleagues in calling on the Bangladeshi government to restore telecommunication services for the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and halt further relocations of refugees to Bhasan Char, a flood prone island, until the United Nations Refugee Agency determined the island to be safe and habitable.
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