Future US-Bangla relations hinge on CG's success
Former US ambassador Milam tells seminar
Staff Correspondent
Former US ambassador William Milam yesterday said Bangladesh's future relations with the United States hinge on whether the caretaker government (CG) is successful or the military takes over in future."We are in a critical period in US-Bangladesh relations, there will be improvement (in the relationship) if there is a return to a revived democratic system, if it does no work then relations will not be good," said Milam while speaking at a seminar organised by Bangladesh Enterprise at its office in the city. "It is noticeable in Washington that there has been a chorus of concern, especially from think tanks, whether (in Bangladesh) there has been a military takeover in disguise or it is a military rule in disguise," said Milam, adding, " There have been reports of human rights violations and abuse of civil rights." "The general mood in think tanks is of 'wait and see' and let them (the caretaker government) have a chance of working it out," said Milam, ambassador to Bangladesh between 1990 1993, while asserting that he was speaking as a private citizen as he is no longer a civil servant. Milam said the government needs to give a specific timeline of a more detailed agenda and it is quite natural for Bangladeshis to finish this as quickly as possible. "The way I look at this, you are witness to a very interesting experiment and we hope it will work," Milam said, adding, it is uncertain whether Bangladesh will follow a Turkish model where the military helps the government return to democracy or the Pakistani model, where historically, the military has come to power and remained there for a number of years. "What we are seeing is an attempt to build a solid foundation and better form of democratic system," he said, adding, "You are building from a collapsed structure, people in Washington are not clear about where this is going to go." He said if the caretaker government is successful, "It would be unique because the history of military intervention in any form is almost always bad." Earlier, Milam met with Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury at his office where he said America considers Bangladesh a key international player. Answering to queries from waiting reporters after the meeting, Milam said, "I don't know whether it (transition) will be difficult or not. I hope not. It sounds to me like there is a very good plan and process." Milam, also a former US ambassador to Pakistan, is currently a senior policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC.
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