US congressmen angry at false Bangladesh media reports quoting colleagues Two US congressmen have reacted sharply to false reports by a section of Bangladeshi media claiming several of their colleagues have condemned the confinement of BNP chief Khaleda Zia and an embargo on publicising Tarique Rahmans speeches. US House of Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel in a statement on Friday said using fraudulent press statement in the name of the Congress was unacceptable. Bangla daily Prothom Alo, Manabzamin, Naya Diganta and news agency UNB on Friday ran reports citing six US congressmen’s statement on Bangladeshs political situation over the first anniversary of 10th national polls. The UNB, however, 40 minutes after releasing the report at 1:10am, issued a media advisory on its website to ignore the news. Several Bangladeshi newspapers in the UK and the US also published the report in both print and online edition. The reports claimed the US congressmen had called for dialogue between the Awami League and the BNP. Apart from Royce and Engel, the reports name congress members Steve Chabot, Joseph Crowley, George Holding and Grace Meng. Thursdays statement said Jan 7 reports by certain Bangladeshi media outlets on the countrys political situation were based on fraudulent statement attributed to the Committee and certain members of Congress. Mengs office confirmed that they had not issued such statements while Royces office said they were surprised. “Though the Committee and many Members of Congress continue to monitor the political situation in Bangladesh, the Committee did not – and the Members did not – issue any such statement,” Thursdays statement said. Meanwhile, one Jahid F Sardar Sadi, identifying himself as Khaledas special aide and BNPs foreign affairs envoy, told reporters on Thursday that US Congress opening session on Jan 6 had seen an unprecedented discussion on Bangladeshs current situation. He claimed Congressman Hakeem Jeffries had presented the topic in the House. Jeffries office told that it was a false claim. investigation revealed that Sadi, who lives in Florida, had served prison terms in over two dozen cheating cases in Florida and Arizona. Document of an Arizona bank fraud case, reviewed by, said Sadi had cheated using various aliases. He was appointed the BNPs foreign affairs envoy and special advisor on Nov 17, 2013, the partys US unit leaders said. BNPs former US chapter chief Abdul Latif Samrat dubbed Sadi a controversial man and expressed astonishment at his appointment. Another BNP leader Md Bashir said, He (Sadi) has tarnished Bangladeshs image by forging the signs of congressmen and publicising a false statement.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 15:57:06 +0000
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