United States assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has dismissed a claim by prime minister Sheikh Hasina that there was a conspiracy to establish a Christian state comprising parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar, like East Timor.
In an interview with Voice of America Bangla published online on July 12, Lu said that these allegations were completely false and added that the US respects Bangladesh鈥檚 sovereignty.
Asked by the US news network and international聽 radio broadcaster, Lu also dismissed the allegation of expressing an interest in setting up an air base in Bangladesh.
Lu, who last visited Bangladesh in May, his first visit after the January 7 general election, said that the US had the priority of supporting free and fair election polls conducted in a peaceful manner during the election.聽
In the interview, he said that they wanted to look forward and not look back.
On May 23, Bangladesh prime minister and ruling Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, in her introductory speech at a meeting with the AL-led alliance at her official residence Ganabhaban, said that a conspiracy continued to make a Christian state comprising the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and a part of bordering Myanmar.
A base would be built in the Bay of Bengal as part of the plot, she mentioned there, as reported in the media.
Without naming any country, she said that she would face no difficulty in retaining power if she allowed them to build a base in the Bay of Bengal, and the offer was from a white person,鈥� said the prime minister.
The US state department earlier said that it had never engaged in any talks with Bangladesh to take over St Martins Island.
鈥業 will just say that it is not accurate. We respect Bangladesh鈥檚 sovereignty, and we have never engaged in any conversations about taking over St Martins Island. We value our partnership with Bangladesh,鈥� US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a press briefing on June 26, 2023.
He was responding to a question that referred to prime minister Sheikh Hasina alleging at a press conference that the US wanted to grab St Martins Island and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party wanted to sell it to the US and that was why she would be ousted from power.
Miller, however, said that they strived to bolster their relationship by working together to promote democracy, including by supporting free and fair elections in Bangladesh.
