US expects Bangladesh to take actions to maintain safety of foreign missions, personnel

When asked about the US considering more rounds of visa restrictions on the media, the State Department spokesperson again refrained from mentioning the media

The United States expects the Bangladesh government to take all necessary actions to maintain the safety and security of all foreign missions and personnel in the country, including theirs.

"The safety and security of our diplomatic personnel is of the utmost importance to us. And per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, every host country must uphold its obligations to ensure the protection of all diplomatic mission premises and take all diplomatic steps to prevent any attack on personnel," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a regular media briefing on Thursday (29 September).

When asked about the US considering more rounds of visa restrictions on the media, the State Department spokesperson refrained from mentioning the media again.

"I'm not going to announce specific steps, preview steps that we might take from the podium," he said.

"We have taken steps to impose restrictions under the Secretary's authority against members of law enforcement, the ruling party, and the political opposition who we believe to be responsible for or complicit in undermining free and fair elections in Bangladesh," Miller added.

The spokesperson also said the US visa restriction could be applied to any Bangladeshi individual who they believe was "responsible for or complicit in undermining the democratic process."

"So we retain the option to impose sanctions on other individuals if and when we believe it's appropriate," he added.