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Arms Smugglinct, Bomb Blasts

Foreign missions critical of govt's performance

Staff Correspondent
Several foreign missions in Dhaka have expressed critical dissatisfaction over the government's poor performance in identifying the criminals engaged in arms smuggling and the series of bomb attacks
in different pans of the country.
They also questioned the government's sincerity to institute good governance andobserved that though the alliance government made lots of commitments on various issues, most of them remain unfulfilled.
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Highly placed sources said the government's credibility witnessed a sharp nosedive following the August 21 grenade and gun attack in an obvious bid to assassinate Awami League President Sheikh Hhasina, leaving at least 19 people killed and over 200 injured.
Sources at the diplomatic circle and the foreign ministry said diplomats from several countries tactfully declined to attend a meeting aimed to brief them on the government's position and steps taken after the bomb explosions at the AL rally.
A government source told The Daily Star yesterday that the foreign minister was shocked to hear the diplomats turn down his invitation to attend the briefing.
The source said the ambassadors told the foreign minister they are not ready to continue harping on the same string, as the government after each of the previous such incidents had assured them to carry out proper investigation and net the culprits involved but failed to produce any positive result.
A diplomat of a European country, on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Star the government after the arms hauls in Bogra and Chittagong, the bomb attack on the British high commissioner and some other incidents, committed to probe into the incidents and arrest the criminals immediately. But, those commitments are yet to be realised, he added.
"After each incident, the foreign minister and other government functionaries had briefed us on the government's position and expressed sincerity. But it now seems those commitments were made merely to keep us silent," the diplomat observed.
He said the ministers on every such occasion used words like 'we're firm to find out the criminals', 'we're very
much sincere', 'the government is committed', 'necessary steps have been taken' etc, but those phrases by now have become like playing of a broken record to us.
The diplomat quipped they have lost all interest to hear the harping on the same string, saying, "I'm sure the foreign minister will repeat the same words if we go to the briefing."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also come under severe criticism from the rank and file of the BNP.
Majority of ministers, lawmakers and senior leaders of the BNP think the current set up at the foreign ministry as well as Bangladesh missions abroad have miserably failed to enhance the government's image both at home and abroad.
Several senior ministers while exchanging views with each other blasted the foreign minister for his failure to arrange a briefing session for the foreign diplomats.
Referring to Indian prime minister and US foreign minister's phone calls to Sheikh Hasina and the ambassadors' visits to her, the ministers said it would have been wise for the foreign minister to arrange similar phone calls to the foreign leaders and meetings with the diplomats by the prime minister.
A source at the Prime Minister's Office said the foreign minister took the initiative to arrange a telephone talk between PM Khaleda Zia and US foreign minister only after repeated instructions.
He said Bangladesh's foreign missions have yet to take any initiative to brief the administrations in their respective countries on the August 21 massacre as well as the subsequent steps taken by the government.
As a result, the international community is getting only one-sided version of the incident, he added.