Embassy Row

FBI and Bangladesh

What began last week as a routine column item about the visit of a top official from Bangladesh ended up as a major news story in that South Asian nation.

Embassy Row reported that the FBI promised to open an office in Bangladesh to help the government investigate the January killing of a former finance minister and attributed the information to an official at the Bangladeshi Embassy.

However, as of yesterday, the State Department, FBI and the government of Bangladesh were still discussing how U.S. law enforcement officials can assist in the investigation.

Since the item appeared a week ago, Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury denounced the original report as “bogus and baseless,” although both governments were clearly engaged in negotiations about the FBI’s participation. U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas tried to clarify matters last week by repeating that no decision had yet been made.

Bangladeshi reporters appeared to be rushing to confirm the mistaken report.

Bangladesh first asked for help shortly after the Jan. 27 grenade attack that killed five persons at an opposition political rally, including former Finance Minister Shah A.M.S. Kibria.

On Feb. 7, Mr. Thomas met with Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and discussed how the FBI could help. Later that week, an FBI agent met in the capital, Dhaka, with government officials, according to Bangladeshi news reports.

Opposition politicians from the Awami League have also called for FBI help and suggested that the government had covered up previous investigations into political violence.

The United States wants to make sure the FBI would have full access to all evidence and witnesses before committing to an investigation.

The FBI has offices in American embassies in 52 countries, including India and Pakistan.

Embassy Row’s first report followed a visit to Washington by Reaz Rahman, foreign-policy adviser to Mrs. Khaleda Zia. He met with Christina Rocca, assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs.

Skinhead attack

A black American diplomat yesterday said he was severely beaten by a white thugs in the Ukrainian capital in an unusual racial attack in a country still celebrating its newly won democratic freedoms.

Robert Simmons, who serves with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Uzbekistan, said the attack occurred Saturday night, as he was walking along a street with friends during a visit to Kiev. He told the Associated Press that he was beaten by more than a dozen men who had shaved heads and wore combat boots.

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