The topic of Bangladesh has once again come up during a US State Department briefing. Primarily, a questioner at the briefing raised concerns about extremist attacks and the arrest of journalists in Bangladesh.
However, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce did not directly answer those questions. She also stated that the Trump administration and the US Secretary of State remain fully committed to diplomatic solutions to any issue.
US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce responded in this manner to a question from a reporter during a regular press briefing on Monday (March 24) local time.
During the briefing that day, the questioner claimed that the Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh had warned about impending Islamist extremist attacks in the country. In light of the US commitment to combating terrorism, what steps is the US taking to prevent Bangladesh from becoming another Afghanistan? Furthermore, how does the US view the alleged illegal imprisonment of journalists under the government of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, and how is the US government working to uphold press freedom in Bangladesh?
In response, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, "Yes, okay. With the questions that we face, I think we go back to the most important things about how we conduct ourselves with other countries, what we hope for from them as friends, if we consider them our friends – and that is the diplomatic situation."
She further stated, "Fortunately, we have an administration and a Secretary of State who are fully committed to diplomatic solutions. He has face-to-face conversations with our friends around the world and certainly leverages our strength as well."
Tammy Bruce said, "And our President – who is known for taking things seriously – he knows, we expect every country, certainly Bangladesh and others, to adhere to human rights norms and to be aware and fair about what their own citizens expect from their government."
