Bangladeshi Foreign Minister explains stance on UNHRC Vote

Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen has justified Bangladesh’s vote against a UN Human Rights Council resolution seeking the 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 yesterday when he was asked why Bangladesh voted against the UNHRC 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 were a militant separatist group fighting for an independent homeland for 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.

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.

(Daily Star)