<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">The United States has reiterated that political violence has no place in a democracy and that it favors no political party in Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We support Bangladesh’s goal of holding a free, fair, and peaceful election," Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the US Department of State, Vedant Patel, said during a regular media briefing in Washington on July 26.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said they have always emphasized the importance of the United States and Bangladesh working together to achieve the latter’s goal of free and fair elections.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US State Department ‘deeply concerned over use of Digital Security Act’</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It’s an important aspect of our bilateral relationship. And we believe that free and fair elections are a shared priority, and many Bangladeshi government officials, including the Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina), have themselves said that it is their goal," Patel said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Wednesday, Bangladesh conveyed its dismay to 13 envoys in Dhaka over their “undiplomatic behavior”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We expressed our dissatisfaction. I hope that after our discussion today, they will realize that their joint statement has been presented prematurely, out of step with the flow of events, and they will refrain from such undiplomatic behavior in the future," State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam told reporters at Foreign Service Academy on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said they advised the diplomats to be constructive, reminding them of the Vienna Convention.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The diplomats have also been warned that bypassing the government and behaving “devoid of objectivity, neutrality and impartiality” will only create a crisis of mutual trust, Shahriar Alam said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassadors or high commissioners of the 13 foreign missions that issued a joint statement recently after a candidate was assaulted during a by-election to the Dhaka-17 constituency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The statement called for a full investigation and accountability for the perpetrators of the assault on independent candidate Ashraful Alom, better known as Hero Alom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the joint statement, the foreign missions had said, “We condemn the July 17 attack on Dhaka-17 constituency candidate Ashraful Alom, popularly known as Hero Alam. Violence has no place in the democratic process.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Everyone involved in the upcoming elections should ensure that they are free, fair, and peaceful,” said the diplomatic missions in Dhaka.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The joint statement was signed by the embassies/high commissions of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and the delegation of the European Union.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shahriar Alam said they have conveyed to the diplomats that this is an isolated incident that cannot be used to judge peaceful, fair and free elections.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"So only a last-minute isolated incident at a center presented by a handful of diplomats never reflects a day-long peaceful election. In giving a quick response, they did not give due importance to the objectivity of their assessment," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As soon as the incident came to light, the Election Commission and the government took prompt and legal action, said the State Minister.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Two persons were arrested long before the diplomats' statement. However, after taking legal measures, these diplomats were calling for legal measures which is unnecessary,” he said. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>