By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Before January 7 general elections in Bangladesh, key figures in Biden administration were making frantic bids in destabilizing the country by foiling the election with active collaboration of Al Qaeda-connected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist-jihadist conglomerate with the notorious agenda of turning Bangladesh into a neo-Taliban state. Such a disastrous possibility was successfully avoided as international allies of Dhaka, including New Delhi, Beijing and Moscow took firm stand in favor of the people of Bangladesh. Despite holding the election on January 7, conspirators – including the members of Biden administration are not sitting tight. They are continuously experimenting numerous tactics with the ulterior agenda of unseating Sheikh Hasina from power – through undemocratic ways.
It turned crystal clear when US State Department spokesperson Mathhew Millar, replying to a question from covert BNP representative in White House press pool on ongoing legal proceedings of controversial Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said: "Cases against Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus may represent a misuse of the labour law to harass and intimidate him".
Covert BNP representative asked Millar about his perspectives on the intrusion of at least 20 unidentified individuals who stormed two offices at the Grameen Telecom building.
"So, I would say regarding the multiple criminal cases filed against Dr Muhammad Yunus, we note that the labour case was tried with unusual speed", said Miller.
The Anti-corruption Commission has approved a charge sheet for additional cases. Those have drawn widespread condemnation from around the world, he said.
"We share the concerns voiced by other international observers that these cases may represent a misuse of Bangladesh's labour laws to harass and intimidate Dr Yunus".
"We worry the perceived misuse of labour and anti-corruption laws could raise questions about the rule of law and dissuade future foreign direct investment", Miller said.
Mathhew Millar's statement on "perceived misuse of labour and anti-corruption laws" is not a good sign. It proves, Biden administration is depending on "perception" on numerous issues about Bangladesh. And we are aware – who are injecting such perceptions into the minds of people in White House and State Department. Moreover, we are aware of Hunter Biden's connections with Al Qaeda-connected BNP, which appointed him as lobbyist couple of years ago.
Hopefully, policymakers in Dhaka would realize the ultimate essence of Millar's statement, which bears a scary signal of the Biden administration's newer plot targeting Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to hold a "bilateral meeting on the sideline of the Munich Security Conference in Germany" with Volodymyr Zelensky. Foreign Minister Hassan Mahmud told the media, "the Ukrainian president sought an appointment and our prime minister agreed to meet him".
The meeting will not affect the friendly relations between Bangladesh and Russia, Bangladesh foreign minister added.
In my opinion, Ukrainian president Zelensky's request of meeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina might have been made several weeks ago when Zelensky was feeling frustrated at not getting required aid approved by the US lawmakers. But things might have changed for him as on February 13, 2024, while Americans were in sleep, in the wee hours, the US Senate passed a US$61 billion foreign aid assistance to Ukraine. The vote was 70 to 29 with 22 Republicans voting in favor. Younger Senate Republicans ripped GOP leadership after the Senate passed a US$95 billion foreign aid bill without addressing the migrant crisis at the southern border.
"Nearly every Republican Senator under the age of 55 voted NO on this America Last bill", 48-year-old Senator Eric Schmitt observed on X. "15 out of 17 elected since 2018 voted NO. Things are changing just not fast enough".
On hearing this news about the prospect of receiving more cash from the US, Zelensky might be now feeling extremely delighted as he can swindle a significant part of it and secretly transfer it to his offshore accounts, although the process may take a few more weeks – if not months. Still, under this new development, Zelensky might not show any sign of sitting with Moscow to find a peaceful solution.
Former President Donald Trump slammed the Joe Biden-backed package and pointed to NATO's absence in the Ukraine cash bonanza:
"I MADE NATO STRONG, and even the RINOS and Radical Left Democrats admit that. When I told the 20 Countries that weren't paying their fair share that they had to PAY UP, and said without doing that you will not have U.S. Military Protection, the money came rolling in. After so many years of the United States picking up the tab, it was a beautiful sight to see. But now, without me there to say YOU MUST PAY, they are at it again. We are into helping Ukraine for more than 100 Billion Dollars more than NATO. We have nobody that they respect, and they insist on paying far less than we do. Wrong, NATO HAS TO EQUALIZE, AND NOW. THEY WILL DO THAT IF PROPERLY ASKED. IF NOT, AMERICA FIRST! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN".
Meanwhile, it is important to note – Volodymyr Zelensky won't accept any suggestions from anyone except from his bosses – Joe Biden, members of Biden administration, NATO and warmonger European leaders – and recently during his interview to Tucker Carlson - Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained the causes of Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine. He also categorically said, American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is overthrowing his government.
It is important to note – as President Putin said, "He [Zelensky] came to power on the expectations of Ukrainian people that he would lead Ukraine to peace. He talked about this, it was thanks to this that he won the election overwhelmingly. But then, when he came to power, in my opinion, he realized two things: firstly, it is better not to clash with neo-Nazis and nationalists, because they are aggressive and very active, you can expect anything from them, and secondly, the US-led West supports them and will always support those who antagonize with Russia – it is beneficial and safe. So he took the relevant position, despite promising his people to end the war in Ukraine. He deceived his voters".
Meaning, things are not in the hands of Zelensky and he has no power to decide about ending Ukraine's ongoing conflict with Russia. On the other hand, US, NATO and the European leaders are indulged in a notorious agenda of pushing the world towards a real catastrophe – World War Three – where nations would use nuclear weapons thus making an end to the entire humanity. That is exactly what Western warmongers are plotting. Moreover, for Joe Biden, who already is projected to be heading towards the end of his presidency as Democrats are looking to replace him with another candidate – which means, Biden has no chance of reelection. Even if he runs for reelection, he will be badly defeated by Donald Trump.
My opinion here is – Ukraine-Russia conflict may end only once Donald Trump wins on November 5 this year. He can force neo-Nazis in Kiev into reaching a peaceful solution to the crisis. Until then, talking about peace with Zelensky is useless. For Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meeting Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich and asking him to resolve the conflict through dialogue would be just wastage of energy.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is an internationally acclaimed multi-award-winning journalist, writer, research-scholar, and Editor, Blitz, a newspaper publishing from Bangladesh since 2003. He regularly writes for local and international newspapers. Follow him on X @Salah_Shoaib