Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday expressed concern over Bangladesh failing to reinstate the Generalised System of Preferences facility into the US market, blaming ‘sour’ relations between the two governments for the failure. BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon at a news briefing at the party’s central office released the party’s statement saying the government has to explain why Bangladesh could not restore GSP facility. He termed the incident ‘unfortunate’. He said the government has to inform people about the progress of implementation of US 16-point directives for restoring GSP facilities. Ripon, also BNP international affairs secretary, said, bitter relations between Bangladesh and US governments was one of the major reasons that Bangladesh’s name was not incorporated in the new list of GSP facility receiving countries. He recalled the ruling party’s leader’s comments undermining US assistant secretary of state Nisha Biswal, calling her ‘dui ana’ ‘char ana’ minister. ‘Such statements are harmful for relations between the two countries,’ he added. He said although the US did not register any protest over the comment, they kept the word in mind. He said Bangladesh would definitely be affected for losing out on GSP facility. He said the government should quickly implement the 16-point directives for restoring GSP. The party spokesman urged all to work en masse to revive GSP facilities into the US market. He said BNP would extend cooperation if the government wanted to regain GSP facility. Ripon said BNP demands that Grameen Bank is allowed to run through its entrepreneurs-directors to remain independent and not be ruined. He asked the government to take initiatives and if necessary enact a new law or ordinance to run the Bank independently. Ripon said Nobel prize-winning Grameen Bank was now on the verge of destruction due to the government’s wrong policies and vendetta. He said the government wants to take the bank under its control because of their hatred for the founder of Grameen Bank, Mohammad Yunus, also a Nobel laureate. He said the bank, established for poverty alleviation, is now going through a tough crisis. He said the government has resorted to policies to bring the bank under its clutch. On behalf of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, he asked the government to step aside from tactics to obstruct the bank from running independently. In reply to a question about the latest situation regarding Khaleda’s visit to the United Kingdom, he said Khaleda’s visit depended on the appointment of her physicians in London. BNP leaders, including Abdul Halim, Shakwat Hossain, Abdus Salam, Abdul Latif Jony and Asadul Karim Shahin, were present.
