VZCZCXRO4598
PP RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #0565/01 1490629
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 280629Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6802
INFO RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 0324
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0252
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2189
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0661
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 9694
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 8460
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 0333
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1308

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000565 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR SPECIAL ENVOY CUMBER FROM AMBASSADOR MORIARTY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL OVIP PGOV EAID ECON BG
SUBJECT: EMBASSY DHAKA WELCOMES OIC SPECIAL ENVOY CUMBER 
 
SUMMARY 
----------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) As a large moderate Muslim majority nation whose citizens 
highly value democracy, Bangladesh is a key USG friend in the 
Islamic world and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). 
Bangladesh has been active in multilateral fora including SAARC and 
the UN, where it has been a leading contributor of troops for 
Peacekeeping Operations around the world. Your visit will provide an 
opportunity to try to shape Bangladesh's efforts within the OIC and 
to convey USG perspectives on the three pillars of the 
U.S.-Bangladesh relationship: democracy, development and denial of 
space to terrorists. On behalf of the U.S. Mission in Dhaka, I am 
pleased to welcome you to Bangladesh.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Throughout its 37-year history, Bangladesh has been a 
proud and active member of the OIC.  Member nations have viewed 
Bangladesh as an honest broker on issues that often divide OIC 
members, including the Iran-Iraq war and Israel-Palestine issues. 
In your meetings with top leaders in the Caretaker Government, you 
should seek their views on ways to promote dialogue between the 
United States and the OIC.  You should also encourage the CTG to 
adhere to its elections roadmap and continue its ongoing dialogue 
with political parties. 
 
DEMOCRACY 
----------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The first pillar of our relationship with Bangladesh is 
democracy promotion.  While an unelected Caretaker Government (CTG) 
currently runs Bangladesh during a State of Emergency imposed in 
January 2007, the CTG remains committed to holding national 
elections by the end of 2008; the Chief Adviser recently announced 
elections would take place the third week of December.  The 
Caretaker Government is implementing a massive voter registration 
project that has drawn praise from its citizens and international 
experts.  This is one of the important reforms that the Government 
has introduced to build a stronger foundation for Bangladesh's young 
democracy.  The CTG also has begun a dialogue with political parties 
aimed at ensuring a smooth transition back to democratic government. 
 This dialogue will be underway during your visit. 
 
DEVELOPMENT 
------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The USG has a robust assistance program in Bangladesh that 
targets food security, economic growth, education, health and 
nutrition, disaster management, democracy and governance.  We 
project that USG food and development assistance to Bangladesh will 
reach USD 150 million in FY2008.  While not the largest bilateral 
donor, the United States plays a leadership role among Bangladesh's 
development partners in areas such as democracy and governance, 
disaster preparedness and response, food aid, and avian influenza 
preparedness and response.   The U.S. has provided over $5 billion 
in bilateral assistance since Bangladesh's independence.  The U.S. 
led the international community's response to the devastation caused 
by Cyclone Sidr in November 2007.   Along with the assistance from 
bilateral donors and multilateral aid agencies, non governmental 
organizations also played a major role in responding to the cyclone. 
  Individuals and groups associated with leading Islamic countries 
also provided a great deal of aid, but in a less than fully 
transparent manner. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) While in Bangladesh you will have an opportunity to meet 
with participants in our Leaders of Influence program, which is 
funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 
This program aims to promote development themes as well as the value 
of tolerance to religious and community leaders.  We educate 
participating leaders on the conditions needed to achieve 
sustainable development, including health, education, economic 
growth, women's empowerment and crisis management.  The leaders in 
the program have participated in exchanges with religious and 
community leaders from other nations, including OIC members and the 
United States. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Bangladesh is home to the OIC-endowed Islamic University 
of Technology (IUT).  The university offers degrees in engineering, 
technology and technical education; though its students come from 
many nations, the majority are Bangladeshi.  You will meet with 
representatives of IUT's students and faculty, all of whom are male. 
 You will have an opportunity to discuss U.S. cooperation with the 
OIC in the areas of science and technology, education, and the 
 
DHAKA 00000565  002 OF 002 
 
 
advancement of women. 
 
DENIAL OF SPACE TO TERRORISTS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Bangladeshis are immensely proud of their Bengali language 
and culture.  At the time of Bangladesh's independence in 1971, 
those who saw Islam as the primary source of identity opposed those 
who fought for a secular state.   In particular, religiously based 
political parties who supported Pakistan in 1971 were largely 
discredited and often branded as collaborators or war criminals. 
This stigma continues to the present day, and in part as a result of 
these traditions, more extreme forms of Islam have only a small 
foothold in Bangladesh.  We continue to promote democracy and 
development as a means of strengthening Bangladesh's traditions of 
tolerance and moderation.  We have actively reached out to the 
Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest Islamic-based political party. 
 We have sought to encourage moderate voices within Islam, including 
within the Islamic political parties.  We have an active program of 
outreach to madrassas and other faith-based organizations.  We 
sponsored a visit to Bangladesh by a Bangladeshi-American U.S. Navy 
chaplain earlier this year.   Your visit will be an opportunity to 
underscore these themes, as well as seek Bangladesh's views on ways 
to promote dialogue between Muslim communities and the United 
States. 
 
COMMENT 
--------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Bangladesh is currently at a crossroads as it seeks to 
restore democracy, ensure greater prosperity for its citizens, and 
rejoin the community of nations.  It is in the U.S. interest to 
support Bangladesh's political transition and encourage it to play a 
responsible role in international organizations such as the OIC.  We 
also hope that Bangladesh will join us on issues such as Kosovo's 
independence, and your advocacy on this will reinforce our efforts. 
Finally, from a public diplomacy standpoint, your visit is ideally 
timed to underscore our message of respect for Islam and a desire to 
reach out to the Islamic world.  We look forward to your visit. 
 
Moriarty