Voicing her hope to retain the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday reminded the USA that they also have around US$ 2 billion investment here in Bangladesh, reports UNB. “The USA has to remember that before Awami League tenure in 1996 their investment in Bangladesh was only US$ 25 million, during our tenure their investment has gone to around 1.2 billion…it happened due to Awami League government, we’ve given that scope, now it’s around US$ 2 billion. They’ve their investment here, they have to remember that,” she said. The Prime Minister said this while responding to a supplementary question from independent MP Haji Selim during her question-answer session in parliament. She also said the USA had wanted to play with the people of Bangladesh, sending the Seventh Fleet during the Liberation War to help the Pakistani occupational forces. “But we Bangladesh attained its Liberation…they couldn’t stop Bangladesh’s victory.” About the cancellation of the GSP, Hasina said it was not any superpower it was the local evil forces who were behind the GSP cancellation. “It was very regretful that one person who was the prime minister and opposition leader sent a letter to the American government seeking cancellation of the GSP facility for Bangladesh.” She added that the political leader also wrote an article in an unknown newspaper in Washington destroyed the image of Bangladesh. Without mentioning anyone’s name, the Prime Minister said that one person became very much angry after loosing his post as the managing director of a bank after losing a legal battle. “That person got engaged in spreading negative propaganda against the government,” she added. The Prime Minister also alleged that the anti- liberation forces and collaborators of Pakistani occupational forces Jamaat-e-Islami appointed lobbyists to conduct the negative propaganda against Bangladesh. “BNP and Jamaat appointed lobbyists to destroy the image of Bangladesh and cancel the GSP facility for Bangladesh,” she said. The Prime Minister said these people never think about the country, its people, workers and laborers. “Their partisan and personal interest always comes on the surface and these people are conducting such propaganda,” she added. But, she said, under the GSP facility Bangladesh could not export RMG and apparel items, which is 90 percent of the total export to the USA. For exporting RMG and apparel items Bangladesh have to pay US$ 850 million per year as duty. “The items which were under the GSP facility were very much insignificant, we could avail of US$ 25 million advantage only, we didn’t avail of any facility more than this.” But she admitted that the cancellation of the GSP is harmful to Bangladesh’s image. She said some collaborators had done some harm to Bangladesh, but that will not happen again as the people of the country are now very much aware. “The trial of the conspirators must be held on Bangladesh’ s soil,” she said.
