Plot was there to create a situation in Bangladesh: PM

In an apparent reference to the recent murders of two foreign nationals, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said there was a plot to tarnish Bangladesh’s image through creating a situation in the country with the killings.

"The situation is under full control of the government," the prime minister said when newly appointed Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Leoni Cuelenaere met her at her office.

Kunio Hoshi, a Japanese citizen, was shot dead in Rangpur on October 3, while Cesare Tavella, an Italian citizen, was gunned down in Dhaka's Gulshan area on September 28 by unknown assailants.

The prime minister reiterated her government's stance of zero tolerance to terrorism and militancy, and expressed her unbending attitude against these evil elements.

After assuming office, Sheikh Hasina said, the present government took necessary measures to contain all insurgencies in the country.

After the meeting, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters.

He said Sheikh Hasina, during the meeting, mentioned the burning of innocent people to death by BNP-Jamaat elements in the name of a movement.

She also criticised the BNP-Jamaat clique for patronising the killers of Bangabandhu through appointing them to Bangladesh Missions abroad.

The prime minister recalled the horrible situation during the BNP-Jamaat alliance government after 2001 when she came under a grenade attack apart from serial bomb blasts on a single day across the country.

Turning to Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, she expressed satisfaction over the progress of the ongoing activities under the Plan, including river dredging.

Hasina appreciated Dutch cooperation in land reclamation and agriculture sector in Bangladesh.

Terming the present world as a global village, the prime minister said countries across the world are interdependent now, and all should cooperate with each other for mutual benefits.

Hasina said her government has been tirelessly working for ensuring the basic needs of people and referred to free textbook distribution and encouraging children to go to school. "For this we’re giving them incentives," she told the Dutch envoy.

Recalling her meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Ruttee on the sidelines of the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Hasina said she is waiting to meet the Dutch Queen in the first week of November during her visit to the Netherlands.

She also welcomed the proposed visit of Dutch Queen to Bangladesh next month in her capacity of UN Secretary General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.

The prime minister welcomed the Dutch envoy on her new assignment to Bangladesh and assured her of all-out cooperation during her tenure.

The Netherlands envoy congratulated the prime minister for receiving the world’s highest environmental accolade, ‘The Champions of the Earth Award’ and ‘The ICT Sustainable Development Award’ of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

She also lauded her able and pragmatic leadership in achieving the MDGs.

Leoni Cuelenaere termed the climate change issue as a global issue and said: "We’ll have to fight it together."

She assured that her country could cooperate with Bangladesh in the areas of water management and shipping. The West should cooperate with Bangladesh in improving the living standard of its people further, she added.

Principal Secretary to the prime minister Md Abul Kalam Azad was, among others, present.