It had been arranged in 2016 after the massacre at the Holy Artisan Bakery. The foreign minister justified the move by saying that representatives of Bangladesh do not enjoy the same privileges. The opposition accused the Executive of “irresponsibility and arrogance.”
Dhaka () – In recent days, the additional security escort provided to some ambassadors residing in Dhaka since 2016 has been withdrawn, following an attack in which several diplomats lost their lives.
The representatives of the US, UK, EU, India, Saudi Arabia and Australia had an additional police escort, which the Bangladeshi government decided to suspend as of May 14.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen explained at a press conference that the additional escort will no longer be provided to any country, “because our ambassadors do not enjoy equal privileges. This protocol is established on an exchange basis. We will no longer give any additional escort, ”he said. “Before, we provided escort services to the ambassadors of some countries. Then other countries also started requesting the same.”
“In addition – he added – the public order system in Bangladesh is very good. Therefore there is no need to provide this service. But if an ambassador considers that he needs more protection, he can hire a security team”.
Foreign Ministry Secretary Masood bin Momen explained that additional security measures for diplomats had been put in place after the terrorist attack at a luxury restaurant frequented by foreigners. However, he commented, now the Islamic militia responsible for the attack has ceased to be a threat and the public order situation is quite good, so the government does not consider it necessary to take additional security measures. “We will never jeopardize the basic security of foreign embassies and ambassadors. We guarantee that,” the secretary said.
On July 1, 2016, five armed militants attacked the Holy Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic area, taking customers hostage and later killing 20: three Bangladeshis, seven Japanese, nine Italians and one Indian.
In Bangladesh, the security of diplomats is based on the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (which regulates bilateral agreements between States) and is guaranteed by the special Ansar battalion, an auxiliary paramilitary force responsible for internal order. The foreign minister also said that the withdrawal of additional security will not have any impact on bilateral relations.
Former ambassador Humayun Kabir said he had not received additional security services while working abroad as a diplomat: “There was no security crisis in the Western countries where I served as a diplomat. That’s why they didn’t provide me with additional security. We didn’t want it. We had it when we needed it.” Kabir was the ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States and other countries.
Opposition leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, general secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, disagreed with the government’s decision to withdraw the additional police escorts: “I think that behind the decision to withdraw the additional security escorts to the six ambassadors there are two things: extreme irresponsibility and arrogance,” Alamgir said.
In Bangladesh there are 58 diplomatic missions including embassies, high commissions and consulates.
