Not a violation of Vienna Convention when issues raised about US political affairs: US ambassador
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas on Tuesday said the US does not think it is a violation of the Vienna Convention when other countries raise issues regarding the country's domestic political affairs.
"In the United States, when other countries raise issues with us about our domestic political affairs, we listen to them, and we see what we can learn from them. We do not feel it is a violation of the Vienna Convention," Ambassador Haas told reporters while responding to a question after his meeting with the chief election commissioner.
Bangladesh recently conveyed its dismay to 13 envoys in Dhaka over their "undiplomatic behaviour" of issuing a joint statement.
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"We expressed our dissatisfaction. I hope that after our discussion today, they will realise that their joint statement has been presented prematurely, out of step with the flow of events, and they will refrain from such undiplomatic behaviour in the future," State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam had said.
In response to that, Haas said the US advised the diplomats to be constructive, reminding them of the Vienna Convention.
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.
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.
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."
