Ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh Yousef SY Ramadan on Thursday said the embassy of Palestine remains committed to expanding educational opportunities for Palestinians in Bangladesh while safeguarding the dignity, rights, and security of every Palestinian student.
“Our position is unequivocal: Palestinian students, especially female students, are not commodities and ‘are not for sale’ in political or institutional agendas,” he said, while clarifying recent media reports and reaffirmed its commitment to the welfare and education of Palestinian students in Bangladesh.
The government of Bangladesh, specifically the current government, has consistently extended generous support to Palestinian nationals, said the ambassador.
“This includes the facilitation of visas-on-arrival for nearly 200 students and the provision of around 280 full scholarships from more than 20 public and private universities across the country,” he said, noting that recent reporting by a national daily has misrepresented the embassy’s position and actions concerning scholarships for female students from Gaza to study at the Asian University for Women (AUW).
“The main goal and policy of the Palestinian government is to prevent the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the people of Gaza. The only people who benefit from an empty Gaza Strip are Israel and its allies as it jeopardises the statehood of the Palestinians,” said Ambassador Yousef.
Contrary to the article’s claim of “two dozen” scholarships, the Embassy has, in fact, secured over 200, he said.
The ambassador said allegations implying that delays by the embassy resulted in the deaths of 30 students are entirely without basis.
The 30 students referenced had voluntarily withdrawn from AUW and accepted alternative scholarships arranged by the embassy.
He said that the embassy prioritises the safety and well-being of Palestinian students in Bangladesh, particularly female students.
“While the Embassy welcomes the arrival of Palestinian students to Bangladesh, it cannot endorse their placement in institutions whose affiliations or funding sources contradict the Palestinian national interest,” said the ambassador, hinting at the reason why they do not endorse the studentships at AUW.
Five Western governments, it said, including the United States of America, have pressured the Palestinian Ambassador in Dhaka to accept students for enrolment at AUW.
The embassy emphasised that Bangladesh has consistently supported Palestine’s cause and will not aid institutions working in alignment with Israeli government objectives, especially their goal of ethnically cleansing the Palestinians from Gaza to create a “Riviera of the Middle East”.