Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said Bangladesh does not seek any suggestions from outside, noting that Bangladesh is a nation which gave blood to establish democracy and justice ensuring people’s rights.
“I would say – let them (foreign critics) see their own faces in the mirror first before talking about others. We don’t want that much suggestion,” he said while talking to reporters on Saturday after laying the foundation stone for the development of Saheber Bazar High School and College in Sylhet Sadar Upazila.
Momen said Bangladesh Awami League came to power again and again through “transparent and credible” elections. “We remain very transparent.”
Without mentioning any country’s name, he said many of them, who are giving lectures on human rights and democracy, were not beside Bangladesh when the nation fought for independence and struggled for establishing democracy, justice and human rights and when the people’s voices were denied.
Momen said the tendency of showing hegemony has increased when Bangladesh is walking towards a better position and doing better on the economic front.
He said the government never indulges in any extrajudicial killings and does not want to see anyone gets disappeared, but accidents happen in all the countries.
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“We are very serious so that such accidents do not happen,” Momen said, adding that Sheikh Hasina’s government stands ready to take steps as per the law against those responsible.
The foreign minister expressed displeasure over a section of the media mentioning that the media people go to foreigners to ask questions on Bangladesh’s internal issues.
He referred to the killings in the malls and schools (in some countries) and said these are their problems to address.
Earlier, he spoke at a discussion as the chief guest when he said people of Sylhet are going abroad but Sylhet is far behind in education. “We should pay attention to that. If you study and go abroad then our economy will improve. So, we should all focus on education.”
Momen said whenever the Awami League government came to power; there has been great development in the education sector.
Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working to fulfill Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's dream of building a Golden Bangla, he said, adding that the current Awami League government is a government of development.
“To build an illiterate-free and happy and rich Sonar Bangla, we need well-educated citizens. The current government is working to create well-educated citizens,” Momen said.
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Shafikur Rahman Chowdhury, President of Governing Body of Saheber Bazar High School and College and acting President of Sylhet District Awami League, presided over the discussion meeting.
General Secretary of Sylhet District Awami League Advocate Nasir Uddin Khan, Chairman of Sylhet Sadar Upazila Parishad and Vice President of Sylhet District Awami League Ashfaq Ahmad, General Secretary of Sylhet Sadar Upazila Awami League Md Nizam Uddin spoke as special guests.