Bangladesh
UN | Bangladesh UN representative summoned, government expresses dissatisfaction
The Government of Bangladesh has expressed its displeasure over the concern expressed by Gwen Lewis, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, about the attack on independent candidate Ashraful Hossain (Hero Alom) in the Dhaka-17 by-election.
Dissatisfaction was expressed by summoning UN Acting Resident Coordinator Sheldon Yett to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Thursday. As Resident Coordinator Gwen Lewis is not currently in Bangladesh, UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh Sheldon Yett is acting as UN Resident Coordinator.
It is known that Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Asad Alam Siam met with Sheldon Yett. The UN representative has been summoned to convey the message that publicly reacting to an independent candidate in the by-election is considered to be tantamount to snubbing.
The Government expressed its hope that the United Nations should refrain from making such public comments on the internal affairs of Bangladesh in the future.
