France embassy in Dhaka called a post “ridiculous, baseless and intellectually weak statement” which was claiming that they support Mohammad Yunus-led Bangladesh interim government’s criticism against US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard on persecution of minorities in the country.
Reacting to a post, France embassy said, “How ridiculous, baseless and intellectually weak statement @kawsarc @mainul_haque @carmel_trish.”
A former Navy official Manoj Rawat, sharing the screenshot of French embassy sharing the Yunus’ statement on Gabbad’s post in his post on X, claimed that they are supporting the Yunus Government‘s criticism of Gabbard’s statement on the genocide of Hindus in Bangladesh.
He further said that it seems that the the Indo-French Strategic partnership is just a business arrangement for France to secure lucrative Defence contracts from India.
“Time to call out the French mischief in the sub-continent,” he said in a post on X.
What Bangladesh said on Gabbard’s criticism
Bangladesh released a statement challenging Gabbard’s observations, calling them “misleading and damaging” to the nation’s standing.
“This statement is both misleading and damaging to the image and reputation of Bangladesh, a nation whose traditional practice of Islam has been famously inclusive and peaceful, and that has made remarkable strides in its fight against extremism and terrorism,” Bangladesh’s interim government said in a statement.
“Gabbard’s comments are not based on any evidence or specific allegations. They paint an entire nation with a broad and unjustified brush. Bangladesh, like many countries around the world, has faced challenges with extremism, but it has continuously worked in partnership with the international community, including the US, to address these issues through law enforcement, social reforms, and other counterterrorism efforts. Bangladesh strongly condemns any efforts to link the country to any form of ‘Islamist caliphate,” the statement added.
Bangladesh also urged Gabbard to base her statements on “actual knowledge” when discussing sensitive issues, warning that such remarks could reinforce harmful stereotypes.”Political leaders and public figures should base their statements, especially about the most sensitive issues, on actual knowledge and take care not to reinforce harmful stereotypes, to fan fears, and potentially even stoke sectarian tensions,” the statement said.
‘US deeply concerned about persecution of minorities in Bangladesh’: Tulsi
In media interviews later, Gabbard said the US was deeply concerned about the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh and the Trump administration was committed to defeat “Islamist terrorism” globally. She noted that PM Modi also took this threat seriously and added that the two leaders would work together to identify and defeat the threat.
“The long-time unfortunate persecution, killing and abuse of religious minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and others has been a major area of concern for the US govt and President Trump and his administration,” Gabbard told NDTV World.
She spoke about the ideology of an “Islamic Caliphate” and how extremist elements and terror groups globally aimed for such an outcome. “The threat of Islamist terrorists and the global effort of different terror groups are routed in the same ideology and objective – which is to rule or govern with an Islamist Caliphate,” she said, adding, “This obviously affects people of any other religion, other than the one that they find acceptable, and they choose to carry this out with terror and very violent ways and means.”
Her remarks mark a strong indictment of Mohammad Yunus-led interim dispensation in Dhaka which had enjoyed support from the Biden administration. In her meeting with Singh, Gabbard reaffirmed the growing strength of the India-US bilateral defence partnership, drawing from the joint statement issued after the recent Modi-Trump meeting in DC, while laying emphasis on intelligence-sharing.
