Foreign Ministry's Rejoinder to the Daily Star

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
External Publicity Wing
Dhaka

28 January 2006

Memo. no. MOFA/EP/Media/Rej/06/09

Mr. Mahfuz Anam
Editor
The Daily Star
Dhaka.

Dear Sir,

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was surprised and shocked to note the bold letter headlined front page report captioned "Curb terror finance, militancy to skirt US sanctions-Rocca tells Dhaka" appeared in the Daily Star on Friday, 27 January 2006.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to take the opportunity to state that the headline and the references made in the report to so-called "sanctions" are grossly incorrect, baseless and misleading. The Ministry would like to reiterate that at no stage of the discussions at the different meetings held between the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State and Government leaders and officials, did she make any reference or mention of sanctions or threat of sanctions. Ms. Christina Rocca herself has categorically denied ever making above quoted remarks at her own press conference held on January 27.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to reiterate that the existing friendly bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the USA are long-lasting and based on mutual trust and confidence. The discussions between the Government of Bangladesh and US Assistant Secretary of State were very positive and constructive and that issues of mutual interest and concern were discussed in a spirit of cooperation and understanding.

It is a matter of great regret and disappointment that an esteemed and reputed newspaper like the Daily Star could be so irresponsible to carry a baseless report in its leading front page that has not only mislead its readers about bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United Sates but has caused substantial harm to our national interest abroad as it gets picked up and circulated by foreign news agencies and over the internet.

I would therefore urge you for the sake of the credibility of your newspaper and in the larger interest of the country that you acknowledge the error of the report and publish this rejoinder appropriately depicting the factual position.

Sincerely Yours,
Zahirul Haque
Director General
External Publicity Wing
Phone: 956 9129

Regret of The Daily Star
Published on Sunday, January 29, 2006
Front Page

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a rejoinder said the headline and the references made in The Daily Star report "Curb terror finance, militancy to skirt US sanctions -- Rocca tells Dhaka" to so-called "sanctions" are grossly incorrect, baseless and misleading. The ministry reiterated that at no stage of the discussions at different meetings held between the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State and government leaders and officials, did she make any reference to or mention of sanctions. Christina Rocca herself has categorically denied ever using the word at her own press conference, the ministry said.

Our Reply:
Rocca in her discussions with the government had mentioned the US government's grave concerns over terror financing and rise of militancy and said unless these issues are properly addressed, Bangladesh would risk falling under the US anti-terror financing act. In our story, we interpreted to the readers the implications of this law which includes the possibility of facing sanctions. However, Rocca herself did not mention the word sanction as mentioned in our report. We erred in attributing the word 'sanction' to her. We stand corrected.