Open Letter to Sheikh Hasina: By Dr. Ali Alghamdy, KSA
Your Excellency, let me introduce myself to you as a Saudi diplomat who visited
After retirement, a group of people who love
I was honored to meet your father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in
I was honored also to meet you when I was assigned to the Saudi Embassy in
I still vividly remember the day when opposition leaders were arrested and when policemen approached you to arrest you. You said: “Do not touch me, I’m a Muslim woman.” This incident depicted the fact that you are a God-fearing Muslim woman. Besides, you were always keen to perform Umrah whenever you had a chance.
For all these reasons, I would like you to read the following points with mercy and justice.
1. You know very well the difficult circumstances your father faced following his release from prison and return to
2. At the time of your father’s tenure, the government passed a law incriminating those who collaborated with the Pakistani army. Although over 100,000 individuals were arrested, none of them were politicians. Your father decided to pardon and release them. Throughout his tenure, he never leveled charges against any politician. When you became the Prime Minister following the 1996 elections, you did the same. You did not accuse nor did you arrest anyone for war crimes or collaboration with the Pakistani military. You did not do that because your father was decisive about this matter and he pardoned all the individuals involved.
3. Everyone was surprised when the wise decisions taken by your father were annulled and the issue of war crimes surfaced again. Some consider the revocation of these decisions as disrespect to your father, which is an unacceptable matter. Among those who opposed such revocation was the opposition party and your former government.
4. Nothing can justify the unjust decision to arrest Muslim leaders who were not arrested during your father’s tenure and yours as well. This decision does not bring any good to the country; on the contrary, it divides people and stirs up trouble, a matter which has direct detrimental consequences to you as the leader of the world’s third largest Muslim country. As someone who loves
5. I hope that you will reconsider the decision of arresting those Muslim groups and leaders without justification for such arrests. For the sake of your father who did not arrest anyone on similar charges at the time, please order the release of those arrested as such a decision will win you people’s appreciation and will be a way of showing your deep love for your late father.
— Dr. Ali Alghamdy is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com__
http://saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=20120516124234
16 May, 2012
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