Washington, DC (BBN)-The United States will continue discussion with the Bangladesh government on the issues of violence, extrajudicial killing and freedom of the press.
Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State, said this while speaking at a daily press briefing on May 5 at Washington DC.
The US stance came in reply to a question- What is the position of the State Department on this situation leading to the press as well as the extrajudicial killing?
“…….we support freedom of expression, freedom of the media everywhere, including in Bangladesh, and it’s an issue we talk about all the time with the government,” said the US spokesperson.
“I know we talked about it a lot around the elections, but very clear about our concerns about violence, and we’ll continue raising these issues with the government,” she continued.
The US official said that the opposition party and civil society leaders are also responsible for what is happening in Bangladesh.
Harf also cleared the US stance on freedom of press saying, “…..And where we see freedom of the press in jeopardy, we obviously speak out against it. So we’ve been very clear about our views on freedom of the press, also about violence anywhere.”
Replying to another question over fresh election, Harf replied: “We want the tensions to ease” between the major opposition and the government of Bangladesh.
BBN/SS/AS/06May14-3:50pm (BST)
