State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday (November 21) said Bangladesh will seek clarification from the US regarding its Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comment on RMG worker Kalpona Akter.

He was speaking to reporters at the foreign ministry after a meeting with the Commonwealth pre-election assessment team in the capital.

On 16 November, while announcing a new Presidential Memorandum on labour rights, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said, "We want to be there for people like Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi garment worker and activist, who says that she is alive today because the US embassy advocated on her behalf."

“Kalpona Akter was arrested only once in Bangladesh in 2010. She was not the only one; several other labour leaders were also arrested. Later, the case against them was withdrawn,” said Alam.

“What Kalpona Akter said was she felt threatened for us or someone else,” he said.

The minister also said, “Kalpona never informed us regarding any threat she was facing. Why US remarked on her issue Bangladesh will seek clarification.”

BDST: 1624 HRS, NOV 21, 2023
MSK/SMS