Visiting former United States ambassador to Bangladesh William B Milam said on Saturday that he was denied visa to visit Bangladesh in the past 10 years of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime.
鈥業 did not get visa to visit Bangladesh in the past 10 years,鈥� said Milam, who has been advocating for human rights and democracy in Bangladesh for the past five years, while addressing a dialogue in Dhaka.
He said that he, as a retired diplomat, wrote a lot and his articles made him聽 an enemy of those in power.
William B Milam and another former US diplomat to Bangladesh Jon F Danilowicz, president and executive director of a US-based non-profit rights group Right to Freedom, were present as the speakers at the event titled 鈥楢 New Dawn in Dhaka: Navigating the Dynamics of Bangladesh鈥揢S Relations After the Mass Uprising鈥� organised by non-government think tank Centre for Governance Studies at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Auditorium in Dhaka.
Milam, who served as US envoy here in the early 1990s, highlighted that the society had the capacity to transition from autocracy to democracy as his attention was drawn to the present situation after the fall of Sheikh Hasina amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024.聽
He said that Bangladesh was now in a 鈥榩erfect situation鈥� and the chief adviser to the interim government, professor Muhammad Yunus, wanted to move the country towards democracy with the approval of the people as he had learned from him.
There was no election during the Awami League regime as people could not actually vote and democracy disappeared during the time since 2014.聽
Regarding the US foreign policy shifts, he remarked that the Trump administration marked a significant change in diplomatic approach, making it difficult to predict future engagements with Bangladesh.
Danilowicz underscored the US鈥檚 historical relationship with Bangladesh, acknowledging past missteps, particularly during the 1971 Liberation War.
鈥楾he US was on the wrong side in 1971,鈥� he observed. 聽
He stressed the need for political accountability in Bangladesh and recognised the military鈥檚 role in maintaining stability amid a sometimes fragile civil administration. 聽
Asked about the lessons learnt from the July uprising, he said that people concerned should figure out why things went wrong in the past.
Recalling his experience as a US diplomat in Dhaka, Danilowicz said that they had mistakenly given too much emphasis on election instead of reforms during the military-backed interim government in 2007-08 following the January 11 changeover.
鈥榃e supported reform agenda during the military-backed interim government in 2007-08鈥he mistake we made was that we gave too much emphasis on election,鈥� said the former diplomat.聽
Referring to US president Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥楿S First鈥� policy, he expressed hope that Bangladesh would adopt the 鈥楤angladesh First鈥� policy, prioritising national interests in governance and diplomacy.
He also said that president Trump鈥檚 statement about the US fund to specific individuals in Bangladesh was disinformation by the people who wanted to undermine the relationship between the two countries. 鈥楶resident Trump was provided with wrong information, I guess,鈥� he added.
Diplomats from various foreign missions in Bangladesh, politicians, academicians, business leaders, representatives from international non-government organisations, civil society members, journalists and university students attended the event moderated by CGS executive director Zillur Rahman.