Bangladesh is grappling with a wave of protests and violence. The violence that started with the protests against the controversial quota system granting 30 per cent reservation to the descendants of the 1971 war, led to the collapse of Sheikh Hasina's government as she succumbed to public pressure, resigned from office and fled the country.
The new interim government, formed under Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunis is trying to diffuse the situation and bring things under control as quickly as possible. As the situation continues to evolve in the South Asian nation, an alleged letter by Sheikh Hasina, which was later refuted by her son, termed her ouster as being part of a US conspiracy.
The whole argument was around Saint Martin Island, an island inside the Bangladesh Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which the US sought earlier. However, the alleged letter was denied to have any substance by her son, so it is necessary to understand what was the case of Saint Thomas Island and what other factors proved detrimental to the Bangladesh-US relationship.
Controversy around Saint Martin's island
The controversy around Saint Martin islands goes back to the 2000s when it was alleged that the US wanted to acquire the island for establishing its military base, a claim which was refuted by the then US envoy to Bangladesh, Mary Ann Peters, who said that her country “has no plans, no requirement, and no desire for a military base on St. Martin’s Island, Chittagong, or anywhere else in Bangladesh”.
Apart from that, there have been allegations that former Bangladesh PM Khalida Zia wanted to sell off the island to the US in exchange for help in winning elections. The island holds strategic importance for the US considering its proximity to the Straits of Malacca, a narrow stretch of water which is crucial for the flow of trade from the African and Middle Eastern countries to Southeast Asia and China. China's fuel and other crucial raw material imports from Africa pass through Malacca. Making it a military base provides additional leverage in the Indo-Pacific.
Other issues detrimental to Bangladesh-US relation
However, the contention between Bangladesh and the United States has only been limited to Saint Martins. One of the other issues is the human rights. The US has intermittently raised concerns over the alleged human rights abuses in Bangladesh. In one such heightened friction moment, the US imposed sanctions on leaders of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
On December 10, 2021, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the elite paramilitary force RAB, along with seven of its current and former officers citing human rights violations. The list of individuals included the then and former RAB chiefs, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and Benazir Ahmed respectively. In response, the Bangladesh government summoned the US ambassador and expressed discontent.
One of the other issues that remained detrimental to the relations of both countries was the US's position on democracy and the electoral process in Bangladesh. Before the 2024 elections, the main opposition party BNP boycotted the polls. The US raised questions over the free and fair conduction of elections. After Hasina's victory, the US outrightly refused to accept the results in Bangladesh as fair and said it remains “concerned by the arrests of thousands of political opposition members and by reports of irregularities on election day”.
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