The foreign envoys have been warned not to bypass the government and not to act without objectivity and impartiality, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam regarding the recent joint statement given by ambassadors or high commissioners of 13 foreign missions on the recent attack on Hero Alam  . 

Foreign envoys can speak to the media but they should talk to the foreign ministry first, he told media following a meeting with the ambassadors or high commissioners of the 13 foreign missions which issued a joint statement last week after Ashraful Alom, better known as Hero Alom was assaulted by ruling party activists during a by-election to the Dhaka-17 constituency.

The state minister said the ambassadors were invited, not summoned and letters are being sent today to the respective capitals of the countries, especially the Foreign Office.

This incident will not affect the relationship with each country, assured Md Shahriar Alam while adding such warnings are nothing new.

However, a joint statement of so many states together is not common practice. Ambassadors will now be more alert, the foreign ministry hopes.

Shahriar Alam also said, the attack on Hero Alam was an isolated incident, it would not be right to judge the whole day's situation during the Dhaka-17 by-election which took place peacefully.

The state minister said, "Asharaful Alom observed the election by roaming freely in various centres throughout the day. He also did not suffer any untoward incident, nor did he make any complaint till the end of the polls.

"Other candidates also did not complain of any kind of violence or any other irregularities. So only a last-minute isolated incident at a centre presented by a handful of diplomats can never reflect a day-long peaceful election. In giving a quick response, they did not give due importance to the objectivity of their assessment."

The joint statement of the envoys had called for a full investigation and accountability for the perpetrators of the assault on independent candidate Hero Alom.

The joint statement was signed by the embassies/high commissions of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and the delegation of the European Union.

According to the section 41 (1 and 2) of the Vienna Convention, envoys must be respectful to the law and inform the foreign ministry before talking to the media, said Shahriar Alam.