DHAKA, March 15 (AFP) - Bangladesh Wednesday played down the U.S. role in its 1971 independence war against Pakistan, as well as long-rumored murky U.S. involvement in the assassination of founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Five days ahead of the arrival of U.S. President Bill Clinton on an unprecedented trip, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdus Sanad Azad told reporters: "We should not forget, but to forgive or not depends on the entire nation. We should ... be forward looking and we expect to further strengthen existing ties between the United States and Bangladesh.”
Clinton arrives here on Monday on the first official visit by a U.S. president to Bangladesh since the territory formerly known as East Pakistan won its independence from Pakistan after a bitter war in 1971.
The nine-month war left three million people dead, and Azad was asked if Dhaka would be seeking a U.S. apology for siding with Pakistan in the conflict.
Some books have also alleged that military officials who led the 1975 coup against Sheikh Mujibur held a series of meetings at the U.S. chancery in Dhaka. They claim Washington was angered by the then president's supposed links to Cuba's Fidel Castro.
But Azad claimed most Americans and the press had supported Bangladesh in 1971, and he stressed that U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has also lauded the country's democracy.
"In the Muslim world and beyond, Bangladeshi democracy deserves recognition as a source of hope for its people and of inspiration to others," he quoted her as saying Tuesday in Washington's Asia Society. "We will both affirm and advance our friendship with a young democracy that was born in strife and is surmounting huge obstacles," she added.
"With the right policies in place, Bangladesh could make a quantum leap forward by exploiting its vast energy reserves, particularly in natural gas ... American companies could be the perfect partners to help seize such opportunities."
U.S. investment in Bangladesh has risen by 30 times in the past three years.
Azad also announced Clinton's itinerary during his brief one-day stay which includes laying a wreath at a memorial in memory of those who fell in the 1971 war, visiting a village and attending a state banquet hosted by President Shahabuddin Ahmed.
However he said there was no fixed agenda for a meeting between Clinton and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in which Dhaka would press for expanded trade, duty free exports to the United States, the waiver of $700 million debt and the naturalization of about 50,000 Bangladeshis living illegally in the United States.
"My expectation is not very high, but I believe because of the trust between the two sides, the U.S. president will not fail us based on what has been already discussed," he said. "The fact that this is the first ever visit by a U.S. president to Bangladesh and the fact that President Clinton has decided to start his official tour of South Asia from Bangladesh is indeed significant.
"I wish to emphasize that Bangladesh today occupies a very important position in U.S. strategic thinking ... because of our geographical position, the role we played as moderators in global issues and very importantly the democratic practices here," Azad said.
A newspaper meanwhile reported Dhaka has set up a 1,500-member special contingency team to tackle the country's notorious blackouts during the visit.
