US senators urge sanctions on Hasina-administration's officials

WASHINGTON: As Bangladesh looks to recover from recent violent protests which resulted in the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina following anti-government protests, several United States senators have demanded sanctions on the South Asian country's officials who worked under the former premier for alleged human rights abuses.

Addressing the concerns about the rights violations, Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Senator Van Hollen said: "The Bangladeshi leaders who orchestrated this brutal crackdown must be held accountable."

Senator Hollen's statement comes after Bangladesh was engulfed by demonstrations and violence after students last month protested against quotas that reserved a high portion of government jobs for certain groups, including families of war veterans.

The protests escalated into a campaign to oust Hasina, who won a fourth straight term in January in an election which the opposition boycotted and which the US State Department said was not free and fair.

Subsequent to the violent protests which resulted in at least 300 fatalities — many of them students — eventually forced the ex-PM to flee to India, an interim government with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus as its Chief Adviser has been established in the country to restore stability and hold fresh parliamentary elections.

Commenting on Hasina's regime, Senator Hollen has called on President Joe Biden's administration to sanction the ex-premier's Awami League party's General Secretary Quader and her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

A letter by Hollen and five other congressional Democrats was sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging sanctions on those officials. The State Department said it did not preview sanction-related actions.

"I welcome the swearing-in of Yunus to lead the interim government in Bangladesh. The US supports his call for calm and peace," Blinken said separately on social media.

It is to be noted that human rights groups had accused Hasina of using excessive force against protesters, a charge she denied.

Since her departure, the student protests have widened to demand the exit of more officials appointed from her time in office.

Hasina's fall triggered both jubilation and violence. Her official residence was attacked, her father's statues were brought down and attacks were reported against minorities.