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US attorney gen 'to do all' for fair treatment of Bangladeshis

UNB, Dhaka
US Attorney General John Ashcroft has assured Foreign Minister Morshed Khan that he would do all he can to ensure that Bangladesh nationals are treated fairly by US immigration officials and do not undergo undue harassment.
The assurance came at a meeting with Khan at the attorney general's office in Washington Tuesday afternoon. Ambassador Syed Hasan Ahmad and senior officials assisted the foreign minister, according to an official message released by the Foreign Ministry yesterday.
Khan rushed to the US capital soon after the US administration announced the inclusion of Bangladesh in the list of 24 predominantly Muslim countries whose citizens will be photographed and fingerprinted while entering the United States.
The foreign minister informed the US attorney general that he had not come to ask for the withdrawal of Bangladesh's name from the list. But since there is a precedent of withdrawal of Armenia from the list, the US administration should consider withdrawing Bangladesh's name also as it is seriously affecting bilateral trade and investment.
Khan requested John Ashcroft to consider giving amnesty to undocumented Bangladeshis who are living in USA and contributing positively to
the US economy. They are lawabiding, peace-loving, hardworking and none has any record of terrorist activities to date, so their cases deserve special consideration, Khan added.
Ashcroft said that in calling for special registration, the US is simply replicating Europe, and added that by the year 2005 the Congress has called for having comprehensive plans for monitoring entry and exit of all foreigners. The old monitoring system was not effective in keeping track of entry or exit of foreigners, he said.
Khan had a busy schedule during his six-day visit and met a number of top US leaders and officials including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy National Security Advisor at the National
Security Council Steven Hadley, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Gordon England.
Besides, he met a number of US Congressmen including Joseph Crowley, Rush Holt, Jim McDermott, James P Moran, Gary Ackerman, Chris Van Hollen and Senator John McCain, and Bangladesh community leaders in Washington and NewYork.
The US leaders agreed with the foreign minister and said they fail to understand why a friend and ally like Bangladesh has been included in the list for special registration.
They assured that they would use their good offices to ensure that Bangladeshis are not harassed.