- Ousted Hasina is accused of using excessive force against protesters.
- US senator urges sanctions against Awami League official, former minister
- Six Democratic lawmakers write a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
WASHINGTON: As Bangladesh looks to recover from days of violence and political turmoil that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over student protests, several US lawmakers have demanded sanctions on Bangladeshi officials who worked with the former prime minister over alleged human rights abuses.
“The Bangladeshi leaders who orchestrated this brutal crackdown must be held accountable,” said US Senator Van Hollen, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
The US lawmaker's comments come as the South Asian nation has been engulfed in protests and violence following student protests last month against quotas that reserved a large share of government jobs for certain groups.
The protests escalated into a campaign to oust Hasina, who won a fourth consecutive term in January in an election that the opposition boycotted and the U.S. State Department said was neither free nor fair.
Following violent protests that left at least 300 people dead, many of them students, and eventually forced the former prime minister to flee to India, an interim government with Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus as chief adviser has been set up in the country to restore stability and hold new parliamentary elections.
Commenting on the Hasina regime, Senator Hollen called on President Joe Biden's administration to sanction former prime minister's Awami League party general secretary Quader and her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
Hollen and five other Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging sanctions against the officials. The State Department said it had no sanctions-related action planned.
“I welcome Yunus' swearing-in to lead the interim government in Bangladesh. The United States supports his call for calm and peace,” Blinken said separately on social media.
It should be noted that human rights groups had accused Hasina of using excessive force against protesters, an accusation she denied.
Since his departure, student protests have expanded to demand the departure of other officials appointed during his administration.
Hasina's downfall sparked both jubilation and violence: her official residence was attacked, statues of her father were toppled and attacks on minorities were reported.
