Bangladesh
Sanctions Against RAB Government has taken initiative to lift the ban against RAB: AK Abdul Momen
Dhaka, January 26: The government has already taken steps to lift US sanctions against seven current and former officers of the Elite Force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the organization, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen. However, he also said that the ban was not being lifted suddenly.
The foreign minister said, "The process will not happen tomorrow. It will take time. We have to be patient. We have hosted multiple meetings with the United States. Inshallah, whenever we can get the information to them properly, I believe the US government will lift the ban on a very good organization like RAB."
He made the remarks in a statement to the National Assembly on Wednesday (January 26th). The statement was made by the Foreign Minister regarding the appointment of BNP-Jamaat and government lobbyists in the United States.
Referring to the US sanctions on RAB, the minister said that it was very unfortunate that the US government had recently imposed sanctions on RAB and some former and current officials of the organization. The ban was imposed without any prior discussion.
Claiming that the ban was imposed due to propaganda, he said, "Not only did they disclose false information or untruths to the US government, but they also told the world's largest human rights organization that RAB was a very bad organization."
The Foreign Minister said, "RAB has gained the acceptance of the people. They serve the people free from corruption. Sadly, such a good organization in Bangladesh has banned those who have stopped terrorism, drugs and human trafficking in the country. The US government's policy is to reduce terrorism, human trafficking and drugs. RAB does these things. They have done these things very efficiently in the past as well. Some of our people have shown this prohibition by giving misleading information against such a big organization."
He said, "Our RAB has not done such a bad thing that for that they will be considered as a terrorist organization of the world, but their work against terrorists. Because of the RAB, since the Holy Artisan ... the US State Department itself has said that terrorist activities have decreased in Bangladesh. No one has died in terrorism since the Holey Artisan. Bangladesh is a country where terrorism was once very hot, but now the terrorist activities have decreased."
