In February, the New Hampshire state House passed a resolution about Bangladesh that was deeply flawed. Its author and main proponent was a Bangladeshi-American supporter of the Awami League who serves as a New Hampshire state representative. While it has no force of law to impact Bangladesh-U.S. relations, it was important symbolically. In response, some Bangladeshi-Americans and local sympathizers did what citizens do in a democracy: they organized and educated their elected officials about the true situation in Bangladesh. They wrote letters to the editor, held a rally (despite taking place on a day with miserable weather), and met with legislators. Their rally resulted in television coverage which you can view here. As a result of all these efforts, minds were changed and the record was set straight. (It is important to note that the Bangladesh America Alliance played an important role in mobilizing this response.)
The most obvious example of their success was the statement below by New Hampshire State Rep. Jodi Newell that was placed in the lower house’s Permanent Journal. (Her statement can be viewed in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/live/YobZAwJsSQo?t=15863s.) We applaud Rep. Newell’s willingness to admit error, speak the truth, and commit to doing better research in advance of future votes. A transcription of her remarks, delivered to her colleagues during a session of the legislature, appears below:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On February 13th, this body passed HR 11, which was a resolution regarding Bangladesh that glorified the fallen administration of the Sheikh Hasina and rebuked the current transitional government, levying various allegations and calling for investigations by the United States government into alleged abuse of minority religions. We as legislators do our best to gather adequate information before voting on any issue, and in the event that more information becomes available, I feel very strongly that it is incumbent on us to address it. This is my intention in speaking before you today.
Unfortunately, after HR 11 passed, I was presented with further information that would have influenced my perspective and my vote on the resolution. For example, I’ve since read the report from the United Nations Human Rights Office that said, and I quote, “Bangladesh’s former Awami League government and security and intelligence services alongside violent elements associated with the Awami League party systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations during the last year’s student-led protests.”
This report details the brutality of Sheikh Hasina during the popular uprising that cost 1,400 students their lives and injured 20,000 people. I have also come to know that the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, has earned the confidence of 176 world leaders and that under his leadership, Bangladesh has thrived. In the words of The Economist, which described the current conditions in the country that they deemed the “country of the year 2024″ just six months ago,”[Bangladesh,] the winner [of the Economist’s country of the year designation], toppled a tyrant and is headed for something better.” In light of this and a host of other additional information I would urge my colleagues to look into on their own time, I would like to express my strong disagreement with HR 11 and my commitment to be more diligent in seeking out more accurate and unbiased information in the future. Thank you.
