Dhaka, June 20: Top officials of United States and Indonesia did not meet Bangladesh opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina despite the meetings being on the cards, media reports here said.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell who made a brief visit to Bangladesh yesterday did not meet Awami League president Sheikh Hasina though there was a possibility of the meeting taking place.

Although Awami League sources strongly maintained that meeting between its president and Colin Powell had been a mere possibility since the secretary of state's schedule was very tight, a leading daily today reported the visiting US dignitary snubbed the opposition chief for her political conduct.

Powell who had arrived from Phnom Penh after attending the ASEAN foreign minister's meeting, snubbed Hasina because she refused call off the general strike coinciding with the Secretary of State's visit by the student front of her party, a US official reportedly said, according to the 'Daily Star'.

Meanwhile, Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri who left Dhaka this morning for Mongolia winding up her three day visit to Bangladesh also did not meet Hasina even though it was originally planned amid reports that government had a hand in cancelling the meeting.

Foreign Secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury however told reporters, "the foreign ministry here was informed in writing by Indonesian embassy in Bangladesh about cancellation of the prefixed meeting since they have not received any opinion from their foreign ministry in Jakarta,"
Bureau Report