Stephane Dujaric, spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has said on Thursday that Assistant Secretary Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, as part of his functions, is in regular contact with Member States, including the United States (US).
Replying to a question at the daily briefing Stephane Dujaric said, in his meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal, Mr. Fernandez-Taranco discussed among other issues the situation in Bangladesh, expressing concern about the escalation of violence and stressing the need for peaceful de-escalation of the situation.The questions and answers were as follows according to the official transcript:
Question: Yeah. You already mentioned that the Assistant Secretary General, Mr. Taranco, and the Assistant Foreign Secretary, Ms. Nisha Biswal, had a meeting yesterday in Washington, D.C. So, can you please specify the outcome of the meeting very briefly?
Spokesman: No.
Correspondent: And…
Spokesman: No, I think these are part of regular contacts between senior UN officials [and] senior officials from various ministries. It’s an ongoing dialogue. I can’t, there is no readout to share with you, I think, that would satisfy your answer.
Question: And another thing is the main opposition, BNP Chairperson, three times elected, she’s… as Prime Minister. She’s confined. And the rolling authority, they are not even allowing from yesterday… day before yesterday… even any food. And their staff, they are eating some dry food having noticed or not in the news media came up. So, what is your comment regarding these inhumane situation?
Spokesman: Obviously, the Secretary General is concerned about the situation and he’s calling for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing political tensions that we see, and it is something that his Assistant Secretary General, Mr. Taranco, is following closely. – News Desk
