Dhaka, Sept 06: The Bangladesh Communist Party today demanded the government scrap an agreement with the United States not to extradite each other's defence personnel to the world court, saying the deal showed US "imperialism." "The signing of the agreement is a violation of the (Bangladeshi) constitution and contrary to international law," Party President Manjurul Ahsan Khan said in a statement.
He accused Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's government of bowing to "imperialism" and said the deal "manifests the criminal character of the United States". The Bangladesh Communist Party, while unrepresented in Parliament, is influential among workers and frequently stages demonstrations and calls strikes, mostly over labour issues.
Dhaka and Washington last month signed an agreement not to extradite each other's defence personnel without the other country's permission, but the pact did not come to light until yesterday after it was leaked to a newspaper here. The United States has aggressively pushed countries not to send any US nationals to the International Criminal Court, which Washington fears could bring politically motivated charges against Americans.
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said the government would not reconsider the agreement.
"There is no question to annul this pact as it is not unilateral but a reciprocal one," he told reporters yesterday in the southeastern port city of Chittagong.
Bangladesh is a signatory to the 1998 Rome statute that set up the International Criminal Court but has not ratified it. Bureau Report