‘Bangladesh a country of religious harmony’

US Ambassador in Dhaka Earl R Miller has said that the allegation Bangladeshi national Priya Saha had made to US President Donald Trump on the minority community is not correct.

Referring to her visits to several mosques, temples and churches and discussions with clergies in the last eight months of his term in Bangladesh, he said Bangladesh is a country of ‘religious harmony’.

Talking to journalists during his visit to Buddhist temple at Badda in the capital on Friday, Miller said he thinks that in Bangladesh people of one faith respect those of others. He described Bangladesh as an important name in maintenance of communal harmony but said no country in the world has been fully successful in protection of the rights of the minority communities.

He said the United States knows the main issues facing the countries in ‘this region’. Miller’s statement came in response to questions by journalists on the Priya’s allegation made to the US President.

In a video clip that went viral on social media on Friday, Priya Saha was heard telling Trump, “Sir, I’m from Bangladesh… 37 million Hindus, Buddhists and Christians are disappeared. Please help us for the Bangladeshi people. We want to stay in our country.”

She also said there are 18 million minority people in Bangladesh. “My request is, please help us, we don’t want to leave our country, just help us to stay (there). I’ve lost my home, they’ve burned my home, they (have) taken away my land, but no judgment (is) yet taken please, please…”

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has meanwhile strongly condemned the allegation made by Priya Saha.In a Facebook post on Friday, he said the government would listen to her allegations and look into why she made them.