Clinton Warns Bangladesh Internal Feuding Must End

Posted May 5th, 2012 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging Bangladeshis to end internal feuding that has sparked violent protests and a harsh government crackdown.

Clinton met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni in Dhaka Saturday, the first day of her visit to a country that many in Washington see as a vital ally.

Speaking with reporters, Clinton said the United States wants to see Bangladesh and its democracy succeed but that violent demonstrations “exact a heavy toll, especially on Bangladesh's poorest and most vulnerable citizens.” She also urged the government to take disappearances of opposition activists seriously.

Opposition leaders blame the government for the disappearance last month of key opposition figure Elias Ali. The opposition called off planned strikes for Clinton's visit but Bangladesh has grown increasingly tense in recent weeks.

Ahead of Clinton's arrival, officials from both countries had spoken of elevating strategic ties between Washington and Dhaka to a new level. Bangladeshi officials have said they want to encourage more investment from the United States and would like to gain greater access to U.S. markets.

Clinton's visit to Dhaka is the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state since 2003 and is the latest stop on her South Asian tour. Clinton is expected to travel to India next.

Before she leaves, Clinton is also set to meet with opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunnus, whose removal from the pioneering micro-lender Grameen Bank has been criticized by Washington.

Secretary of State Clinton's arrival in Dhaka follows several days of meetings with Chinese officials, many centering on the fate of blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng.

Clinton left China having secured an agreement that would allow Chen to apply to study abroad. The deal is seen as a breakthrough in the diplomatic dispute that began when Chen escaped house arrest and fled to the U.S. Embassy.

American officials confirmed reports that Chen has received a letter from a U.S. university offering him a fellowship. One of his friends said the school is New York University, and that the blind activist hopes to travel to the U.S. for a while before returning to China.

But Chen's wife, Yuan Weijing, told a reporter in a phone interview Saturday that there is still no timeframe for when Chen may be able to leave. She said it was because Chen is still in the hospital for medical treatment, and that none of the required paperwork had been started.

Some human rights activists say the U.S. should be skeptical about the Chinese government's assurances regarding the safety of Chen.

Chen is a self-taught lawyer and human rights activist who has been blind since childhood. He was given a four-year prison sentence in 2006 for exposing abuses under China's forced abortion policy aimed at population control. He had been under house arrest since 2010, before escaping on April 22.