Australia's tour of Bangladesh in doubt after charity worker's killing

Published September 29, 2015
Uncertainty over the tour has grown even after Bangladesh promised the highest level of security for the Australian team. — AP/file
Uncertainty over the tour has grown even after Bangladesh promised the highest level of security for the Australian team. — AP/file

SYDNEY: Australian officials were Tuesday returning from Bangladesh after meetings with high-level security figures, but no final decision has yet been taken on the upcoming Test tour, Cricket Australia said.

The team's departure was delayed on Sunday on security fears, prompting Dhaka to pledge to provide the kind of measures usually reserved for visiting heads of state if the tour goes ahead.

“There has been no change to our position on the matter,” a spokeswoman for Cricket Australia told AFP via email on Tuesday.

CA's anti-corruption and security manager Sean Carroll met top security and intelligence officials in Dhaka on Monday.

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan, who insisted there was no risk to the players, were also at the meetings.

“Following yesterday's meetings, our head of security (Carroll), team manager (Gavin Dovey) and team security manager (Frank Dimasi) are on their way home from Bangladesh for further meetings with the Department of Foreign Affairs and to brief our board, management and players on the situation,” the CA spokeswoman said.

In delaying the team's departure, CA chief executive James Sutherland said the Canberra government had identified a potential security risk to its nationals' interests in Bangladesh.

Australia's foreign ministry warned on Friday of “reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh”.

On Monday the British government also warned that militants may be targeting western interests in the country, the same day that an Italian charity worker was shot dead by attackers in Dhaka.

“UK officials have been advised to limit attendance at events where westerners may gather,” it said in a travel advisory.

Bangladesh prides itself on being a mainly moderate Muslim nation but the gruesome killings of a series of atheist bloggers this year rocked the country and sparked a crackdown on local hardline Islamist groups.

The first Test is scheduled from October 9 in Chittagong and the second from October 17 in Dhaka following a three-day warm-up match scheduled to start on Saturday in Fatullah.

Opinion

Editorial

Enrolment drive
Updated 10 May, 2024

Enrolment drive

The authorities should implement targeted interventions to bring out-of-school children, especially girls, into the educational system.
Gwadar outrage
10 May, 2024

Gwadar outrage

JUST two days after the president, while on a visit to Balochistan, discussed the need for a political dialogue to...
Save the witness
10 May, 2024

Save the witness

THE old affliction of failed enforcement has rendered another law lifeless. Enacted over a decade ago, the Sindh...
May 9 fallout
Updated 09 May, 2024

May 9 fallout

It is important that this chapter be closed satisfactorily so that the nation can move forward.
A fresh approach?
09 May, 2024

A fresh approach?

SUCCESSIVE governments have tried to address the problems of Balochistan — particularly the province’s ...
Visa fraud
09 May, 2024

Visa fraud

THE FIA has a new task at hand: cracking down on fraudulent work visas. This was prompted by the discovery of a...