Bangladesh Outraged by Economist Article Alleging Indian Financial Help Put Awami League in Power

The foreign minister of Bangladesh is outraged by an article in The Economist magazine which alleged that India helped to finance the ruling party’s election triumph in 2008.

In an article entitled ‘Embraceable You,’ the magazine claimed that “bags of Indian cash and advice" helped the Awami League sweep to power.

Minister Dipu Moni accused The Economist of waging a “smear campaign” against the Dhaka government.

She told a news service the report was "disgraceful" and that it likely "undermined the friendly relationship between Bangladesh and India".

"People know that the Awami League did not win the election [because] it got money or advice from any country, rather the people elected [it] to form the government," she said.

Moni pointed to possible bias at The Economist, citing that the magazine earlier opposed a move by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal to prosecute Bangladeshis accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces and committing atrocities during the 1971 war of independence.

"If we add up all of this, it seems they [The Economist] are campaigning against Bangladesh and the government," she said.

"It seems to me there is a smear campaign going on against Bangladesh.”