Dhaka, Aug 7 – The heads of missions of the European Union (EU) countries in Bangladesh in a joint statement expressed concern at school children and young people being caught up in protests of violent clashes with other groups. Welcoming the govt’s recognition of the need for action they hoped they said they expect further govt action to address this without delay. The joint statement was as follows: ‘EU Heads of Missions stress that the violent scenes in Dhaka in recent days, particularly where school children and young people have been caught in protests or violent clashes with other groups are a source of real concern.
‘We expect all sides to remain calm and to respect the right to peaceful protest. Incidents of unlawful or disproportionate violence or action against protestors, journalists or others need to stop; those that happened must be investigated and perpetrators held to account.
‘The school children’s protests highlighted fears over road safety and the enforcement of laws and regulations on the roads in Bangladesh. The Government’s recognition of the need for action is a welcome step and we, therefore, expect further Government action to address this without delay.’
Heads of Mission of the European Union: H.E. Ms. Alison Blake, High Commissioner, British High Commission; H.E. Mr. Mikael Hemniti Winther, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy; H.E. Mr. D. Álvaro de Salas Giménez de Azcárate, Ambassador, Embassy of Spain; Mr. Jean-Pierre Poncet, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of France; Mr. Giuseppe Semenza, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of Italy; Mr. Michael Schultheiss, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mr. Anders Öhrström, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of Sweden; Mr. Jeroen Steeghs, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; and Mr. Konstantinos Vardakis, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Delegation of the European Union. – EU Dhaka office press release
