Though the foreigners sometimes disturb us without any reason, we will accept their good advice, said Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday.
“The foreigners sometimes disturb us without any reason. Despite this, if they come up with good advice, we will accept that. But if our rights are truncated, we know how to prevent that. Don’t fear anything. We’re a victorious nation,” said the foreign minister after saying his prayers at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (R) in Sylhet at around 2:00 pm.
He also urged people not to think in line with the foreigners.
Abdul Momen said, “Not many people were with us even in 1971. But we proved that we’re a victorious nation. We don’t need their help. But I want to say here that the US government is extremely pragmatic. They believe in the doctrine of reality. They extend their support when anything happens.
“When we achieved victory on 16 December, and sent a proposal for membership in the UN, the US supported that proposal 15 times. Some other countries vetoed, China did veto the proposal, But the US saw that since Bangladesh has been formed, a good government is in power, they gave us the support. This will happen this time too, they will provide us with the support. We expect that,” he insisted.
Mentioning that the condition of the country is very good, Abdul Momen said, “A festive environment has engulfed the country for the election. People from all walks of life believe in the dictum of ‘I’ll cast my vote for whomever I like’. We believe a fair election will be organised in the country.”
The minister also urged everyone to go for franchise along with their family members.
Speaking about the foreign secretary’s forthcoming meeting in India, the minister said, “This is a routine matter, foreign secretaries’ consultation. There exists different types of problems with neighbouring countries, a discussion will be held on those smaller issues. Basically, this is not a very important meeting. About 80 ambassadors are there who don’t have missions in Bangladesh; they are in charge of affairs with Dhaka from Delhi. Whenever we go to Delhi, our ambassador invites everybody there, and meetings take place. Since they can’t come to Dhaka, they don’t get the scope of meeting our cabinet members and secretaries.”
Abdul Momen further stated, “We have done everything to organise a free and fair election. We’ve created IDs’ of voters with their photos so that there could be no fake voter. We’ve introduced transparent ballot boxes so that none can stuff ballots from beforehand. Most importantly, we’ve formed a strong election commission who are in charge of the responsibility of fair voting. They will carry out their duties.”
Mentioning that many parties have been buying nomination forms to join the election, the foreign minister stated, “Many parties said they won’t join the election, they have been buying nomination forms now. This is good news. Let people from different opinions contest the elections.”
Addressing the de facto opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the minister claimed, “In the last few days BNP has torched 378 vehicles and destroyed nearly 350 establishments.”
“You can’t ascend to leadership by burning and destroying vehicles. Shun this habit and join the election, seeking apology to the nation. You are most welcome. Prove whether you have any popularity in the country or not.”
