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Morshed refutes US claim of terror link

Offers fresh Saarc meet dates, seeks compensation from Kuwait for damage to mission

UNB, Dhaka
Foreign Minister Morshed Khan has sharply reacted to US State Department report that an Islamist outfit having links with al-Qaeda is operating in the country, saying that it is part of a "conspiracy and orchestrated anti-Bangladesh campaign".
"The way Bangladesh is being painted with the same brush time and again, it seems that it is a conspiracy and an orchestrated campaign by some vested quarters," he told reporters at his office yesterday about the report that named Harkat Ul-Jihad-I Islami, Bangladesh (Huji-B) as the militant outfit.
Without rejecting or accepting the report, Khan said, "I don't see any activity of such organisation in Bangladesh. The question of accepting or rejecting it does not arise."
To defend his contentions, Khan made two points. Firstly, though there had been international terrorist attacks in America, Europe and Spain and many other countries, no such attack took place in Bangladesh. Secondly, no Bangladeshi citizens have been arrested anywhere in the world as a member of so-called terrorist organisations.
The foreign minister said the State Department in its report has only made a speculation -- it has not had the guesswork confirmed. "It said it may happen, so anything can happen anywhere in the world," he said, adding that the report itself is not sure as it stated Huji leader Saukat Osman is "unknown." On the contrary, he said, the State Department in its observations rather hailed Bangladesh government for the effective measures it has taken against terrorism.
"As a responsible government, we are very much alert like other countries about it," he said, adding that the government has already banned two organisations --JMJB [Jagrata Muslim Janata
Bangladesh] and JMB [Jamiyaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh] ---and
also taken action against Al-
Haramine.
"We have done it not because we have proof, but because we want to crush at the beginning any potential threat. We won't allow any terrorism in the name of Islam," he told the reporters.
Pointing his finger to Indian journalist Bibhuti Bhusan's editorials "Terrorist Menace" in the Statesman on July 15 and 16 last year about Bangladesh, Khan said since then, different quarters and journalists have started to assert the presence of terrorists in the country.
Asked about US Admiral William Fallon's apprehension about movements of international terrorists in Bangladesh, he said what the US admiral advised is advancement in preparation and capacity building in Bangladesh to deal with any future eventuality like tsunami.
Khan said after the 9/11 attacks on America and subsequent terrorist acts in Spain and Europe everybody is concerned about terrorism. " I don't doubt their intention as they are sensitised after those attacks. We've to pull our resources together to fight against it."
On the issue of minority, the foreign minister said all religious groups are living in Bangladesh in communal harmony. He said: "I am proud to say that unfortunate incident (Hindu-Muslim riot) in Indian State of Gujarat had not touched Bangladesh."
He categorically said: " We don't treat any community as minority." SAARC SUMMIT
On Saarc summit, the foreign minister said we have decided to propose two sets of dates from the end of August to early September or early November for holding the stalled summit in Dhaka.
He said they will communicate the dates today to the current Saarc Chair Pakistan which had earlier wanted to know from Bangladesh about a convenient date for the meet.
"We want to host the summit as early as possible on a date convenient to all member-states," the foreign minister told the reporters.
He said the government will remain busy with the national budget in June-July while August is a bad month due to rains and floods.
In September, the UN General Assembly meeting will be held in New York where the Saarc countries will remain engrossed in dealing with world affairs and October is the month of Ramadan.
"So we have worked out a convenient time for us between the end of August and early September or early November," the foreign minister told the journalists.
Pakistan will now consult with other Saarc countries to see whether the dates are also convenient to them before making a final announcement of the summit date.
The 13th Summit of the sevennation South Asian forum was postponed twice because of tsunami and India's pullout on grounds of developments in Nepal and "security concerns in Dhaka".
KUWAIT COMPENSATION
Khan said the government has sought compensation in Kuwaiti dinar 10,000 to 15,000 from the Kuwaiti authorities for damages caused to the Bangladesh mission in Kuwait in an attack on April 24 by angry Bangladeshi workers.
"As per rule, the host country is liable to pay the compensation for such damage," the foreign minister told reporters.
He said the Kuwaiti authorities have taken strong action against the attackers and also asked the companies concerned not to take advance guest workers or deceive them by non-payment.
Earlier, the government had decided to send a three-member inquiry team to Kuwait for on-the-spot investigation and find the clue to such attack.
The government has also instructed Bangladesh embassies in all Gulf countries to remain alert against such incidents in future.