US wants armed private security

The United States is interested in exploring the option of armed Bangladeshi private security personnel ensuring security of US officials in Dhaka.

The US, which is worried about the safety and security of its officials in Bangladesh, following the brutal murder of its staff Xulhaz Mannan, will raise the issue of strengthening private security forces in the upcoming fifth Partnership Dialogue between the two countries in Washington on June 23-25.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Diplomatic sources said even though the US embassy in Dhaka had said the Bangladesh police provide outstanding and professional protection to their diplomats and facilities, it wants arms for Bangladeshi security companies as a secondary protection.

Like most diplomatic missions and thousands of other establishments in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi personnel employed by security companies are unarmed in compliance with the Bangladeshi laws.

Asked whether the US would raise the issue of strengthening private security forces, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat noted the outstanding security provided by local law enforcement and added that the US embassy complied fully with the local law. 

“The embassy is interested in exploring the option of some of the Bangladeshi private security carrying arms,” she told The Daily Star yesterday.

She said the security issue would be on top of the agenda in the upcoming partnership dialogue in Washington.

"Security is the number one task of any government," the US ambassador said prior to departing for Washington yesterday for a three-week trip to attend the dialogue and some other events.

She said the issue of human rights would come up broadly in the discussion, noting in particular reports of extrajudicial killings and harassment while arresting people during anti-militancy drives.

Bernicat said there would be three broad areas that would be discussed in the dialogue. These are security cooperation, development and governance cooperation; and trade and investment.

During the dialogue, diplomatic sources said the US would ask about the progress over investigation into the killing of locally hired USAID staff Xulhaz Mannan, also an advocate for LGBT rights activist.

Xulhaz and his friend Mahbub Tonoy were stabbed to death at his Kalabagan home on April 25.

“We want to see a transparent investigation into it and want to see that killers are tried,” Bernicat told The Daily Star.

On ISIL, the US envoy said terrorism is a global threat, therefore its presence is global and there is no need to talk about where an organisation is or is not.

“ISIL has global reach and can be everywhere thanks to the internet,” she said, adding that the two governments have agreed that it is a global threat and they have to work on it globally and jointly.

The US ambassador appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's condolence message sent to US President Obama. She termed the message “strong and compassionate”.

Hasina sent the condolence message to President Obama after the deadly gun attack in a nightclub in Orlando that claimed 49 lives.

The US would also want to see Bangladesh addresses a number of vital issues regarding human rights, governance, transnational crime and cyber security.

Diplomatic sources said money laundering and terror financing, migration, capacity building of law enforcement agencies, trade and investment, the environment, and education issues would also be discussed in the dialogue.

Both the countries would also discuss how the internet could be monitored better to protect systems because the attackers know how to find weaknesses, they said.

The countries would also discuss projects focusing democracy and rule of law and ways to keep the society free from conflicts.

Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial meeting was held at the foreign ministry yesterday to finalise the dialogue agenda.

Representatives from the ministries of home, foreign, commerce, energy, food and disaster management, the economic relations division and the armed forces attended the meeting with Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque in the chair.

Meeting sources said the upcoming dialogue would be focusing on the expansion of security, trade and development ties between the two countries.