B’desh terms US Human Rights report disappointing, unbalanced

CHINA: The Bangladesh Government on Thursday termed the US State Department’s human rights practices report- 2007 on Bangladesh disappointing for its “lack of balance” in presenting the country’s ground realities, private news agency UNB reported.

The State Department report released in Washington on Tuesday said the Bangladesh caretaker Government’s human rights record worsened, in part due to the state of emergency and postponement of elections.

Reacting to the report, the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said Bangladesh is committed to upholding human rights of all its citizens in accordance with its constitutional obligations. A spokesman for the Ministry noted that all, including the international community, knows the circumstances which led to the declaration of state of emergency early January 2007.

The spokesman also said that the Government is disappointed at the report’s lack of balance as it failed to mention the significant reform measures taken by the caretaker Government for consolidating and sustaining democracy.

Meanwhile, a report on human rights situation in the United States issued on Thursday said that racial discrimination is a deep-rooted social illness in that country as blacks and other minor ethnic groups are living in the bottom of the American society. Xinhua