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Towards the end of the BNP-led coalition government, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar, was one of the “contact persons” for US Ambassador Patricia Butenis. Although Babar was a young man in the position of Minister of the Interior of the State, there were rumors about his corruption. This is how Patricia Butenis brought up the subject of Lutfuzzaman Babar in an interview with the country’s Foreign History Speaking Project after retiring from the US Foreign Service in 2014.
Butenis said: “The Rapid Action Battalion under Babar’s ministry was known for extrajudicial killings. But we had a lot of contact with him. Because he was in charge of the security forces guarding our embassy. The prison was also under him. He said: ‘A lot of Bangladeshis were afraid of (Babar). I’m sure there are reasons for that. I know, some people, including other diplomats, thought that I should keep my distance from Babar. But I don’t know if I would have done anything different than what what did I do ‘.
“Perhaps what he should not have done was accept Babar’s farewell dinner before leaving Dhaka for Baghdad,” Butenis said. Babur developed a relationship with other ambassadors and with me. Because he believed it would increase his power and dignity. Accept the invitation. But I told you before that I can’t accept any gifts. Other diplomats may not have been able to attend the dinner.
“He should have turned down the invitation,” Butenis said, adding that “Babar knew that he would be the target when he took over the interim government backed by the army.” He called me and the British High Commissioner to meet him. We respond to that. He wants a visa for our country ”.
Butenis said in an interview, “Babar said that he has respiratory problems and needs to go to the United States or the United Kingdom for treatment. But we knew that he was trying to flee Bangladesh to stay safe. I think we could anticipate what he wanted to talk about and we could decide what our response might be. Our discussion with Babar was difficult. Because the result (not being able to leave the country) became a ‘thorn’ for him. He was later arrested and sent to jail.
In another context, Butenis said he did not have much to say about the situation in Bangladesh with the Under Secretary of the South Asia Office at the Foreign Ministry in Washington. However, he remained in contact with Deputy Under Secretary John Gastrite via “secure” email and phone. If something happened very quickly, they would have the opportunity to take a position in Dhaka with their own discretion.
“Bangladesh has always wanted more high-level visits from the US State Department,” Butenis said. However, we didn’t get much of that tour. At one point in a conference, then-Foreign Minister Morshed Khan met with US Secretary of State Rice (Condoleezza Rice). From then on, he would tell me that Rice would come to Bangladesh and ‘play the piano for me’. In response, I just had to say, ‘Good. I’m sure he will come if he finds time. “
Butanis recalls conversations with his then colleague in Dhaka, the Pakistan High Commissioner, in Dhaka, who has been his friend since he was in Islamabad. The Pakistani High Commissioner told him that the Bangladeshis he met were friends of Pakistan. Even after the atrocities of 1971, there was not much hatred towards Pakistan at the time. Butanis realized that India was upset with the situation. The number of Hindus in Bangladesh has been declining since 1971.
In response to a question, Butenis said: “It was clear that the Pakistani and Indian intelligence agencies were active in Bangladesh. The BNP is traditionally close to Pakistan, the Awami League of India. There were credible rumors that the ‘ISI’ Pakistan was investing a lot of money in BNP. I don’t know what the Indian intelligence agency “R” was doing. The then High Commissioner of India was a respected high-level diplomat. In my conversations with him, it became clear that India is very pro-Awami League. “
Butanis noted that some “disturbing” events had taken place during the military-backed interim government. He said politicians from both parties were being arrested on corruption charges. The idea was that the military was trying to break the ineffective political cycle and eradicate corruption. Butenis said the detainees were asking him to intervene so that he could be released. According to him, ‘I have shown reluctance to discuss the issue with the interim government. That discussion would not be fair. Since that person is neither corrupt nor corrupt, I had no idea or information about it. However, all of the detainees were treated fairly with respect to human rights, for which they made public statements.
Butanis mentioned in an interview the case of a man who was her main means of communication with opposition leader Sheikh Hasina. However, he did not mention the person’s name. The man’s wife visited the ambassador’s home several times. He was also well known to other ambassadors. He met his wife Butenis after her arrest and sought intervention for the release of her husband. Butanis could not recall in an interview whether formal charges had been brought against the man. But he said to the man’s wife: ‘We can’t tell from the individual. Rather, we are pressuring the interim government to show respect for the civil rights and human rights of all. Butenis said: ‘I know that she (the contact person’s wife) didn’t want to hear that. Now I also think that talk is bureaucratic. But that was our policy.
A few years later, the Awami League came to power. Butenis came to Dhaka to attend a conference at that time. That ‘contact person’ of butanis in Awami League has also been released. Like other contact persons, Butanis also met the man from the Awami League. While having lunch at a hotel, the man told him that he had been tortured while in custody.
Butenis said in his interview that when he arrived in Bangladesh as an ambassador, there were signs of extremism in the name of Islam. The United States withdrew the ‘Peace Corps’ from Bangladesh due to the threat of someone associated with extremism. India has been claiming that Bangladesh is home to separatists in northeast India fighting for their independence from India. In another context, Butanis reiterated that in her conversations with him, the then High Commissioner of India said that Sheikh Hasina was India’s preferred candidate for the upcoming elections.
On the other hand, the High Commissioner of Pakistan was very close to the government of Khaleda Zia. The BNP government was thought to be influenced by the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. According to Butanis, “The Awami League was thought to be more secular and had relations with the West. On the other hand, the BNP’s proximity to Pakistan was reflected. I think it was the communal bond that gave the ISI and the Pakistani army that opportunity.
Butanis reiterated: “It was believed that ISI was giving a lot of money to BNP. Of course, the Indian intelligence agency Research and Wing (RAW) was thought to be active in Bangladesh. Another link with Pakistan was Jamaat (Jamaat-e-Islami).
Before Butennis, Harry K. Thomas was the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh. He told Butenis that he felt bad about leaving Bangladesh. He also said: “The United States Ambassador is the King of Bangladesh.” After Butenis arrived in Dhaka as an ambassador, Harry admitted in an interview that he understood Thomas’s statement. Even then, the US ambassador in Dhaka received a police escort. At the end of the ceremony, other ambassadors would follow him so that he could be followed by a police guard.
Butenis said: “We had a lot of influence there (in Bangladesh) or at least most Bangladeshis thought we did. Politicians have always sought America’s support for them. This is a bit embarrassing. Many times I also had to hear শুন ‘Please tell the prime minister’ or ‘Please tell the opposition’. “I understand the importance of a third party taking the initiative to negotiate as a neutral party,” he added. But I often thought direct discussion was best.
When Butenis left Dhaka after only 14 months as ambassador to Bangladesh, his condition was not much different from that of Harry K. Thomas. Butanis said: “A newspaper headline was’ Four Queens of Bangladesh. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina, Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri and myself (Butennis). The idea is that here we are the key to everything ”.
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