Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain today urged British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke to convey accurate information regarding the minority situation and the student-led July-August uprising in Bangladesh to the UK government.
“I invited her (to the foreign ministry) to present our position and requested her to relay the true situation in Bangladesh to her government,” he told reporters following his meeting with the British envoy at the foreign ministry here this afternoon.
Touhid referred to speeches made by some British lawmakers in Parliament on December 2 regarding Bangladesh’s minority situation, pointing out misinformation in their statements.
“I informed her (Cooke) that the speeches did not reflect the actual ground realities in Bangladesh. I requested her to convey the facts through her diplomatic channels,” he added.
In response, Cooke assured the adviser that she would pass on the message and suggested that Bangladesh’s mission in London could also take steps to communicate the accurate narrative, Touhid said.
The foreign adviser also highlighted a statement by the British All-Party Parliamentary Group, which alleged that more people were killed in Bangladesh after August 5.
“This claim is utterly baseless. I explained to her that nearly 1,500 people were killed before August 5, and the statement completely misrepresented the events of the July-August uprising,” Touhid said.
The adviser raised the omission of key facts, such as the large number of students who were shot dead in the streets prior to August 5.
“I told her (Cooke) that we were deeply hurt by this misrepresentation,” he added.
Touhid emphasized that the foreign ministry is determined to counter misinformation and ensure that international communities are apprised of the true facts about the atrocities and the broader situation in Bangladesh.
