Friday, Nov 01, 2013
Dhaka: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged Bangladesh’s major political parties to exercise restraint as deadly violence over the electoral system claimed at least 18 people during the three days of the opposition-led shutdown earlier this week.
A spokesman of the UN chief late on Thursday said Ban was concerned about “the latest wave of deadly violence in Bangladesh ahead of parliamentary elections due by January” as the evolving situation intensified the UN’s worries.
“He calls on all [those] concerned to respect the rule of law, exercise restraint and to express their views peacefully,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesman, however, said Ban was hopeful that the recent steps to initiate dialogue would be successful as he urged all parties to ensure an environment “conducive to credible and peaceful elections”.
The secretary general’s comments came as foreign envoys in Dhaka made visible their strong presence in Bangladesh’s political scenario amid uncertainties over the fate of the elections, due ahead of January 25 while a constitutional 90-day countdown for the polls began on October 27.
Ban earlier called up Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her arch rival Khaleda Zia of main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) seeking to bridge their gaps over the electoral system while US Secretary of State John Kerry followed his footsteps writing letters to the two top leaders.
A senior UN official earlier warned that the failure of the major parties to quickly reach a consensus could invite military intervention endangering the country’s democratic process as he visited Dhaka as Ban’s special envoy.
India and the United States in recent weeks engaged their efforts to understand each other’s views on Bangladesh and help the dissolution of the standoff while US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena flew home on Friday to inform the state department of the outcome of his talks with Indian officials in Dhaka and New Delhi.
The US and Indian high commission in Dhaka, however, remained tight lipped about the meetings in Dhaka and Delhi amid media reports that the two countries were not on the “same page” over the Bangladesh issue.
Several foreign envoys of countries like the US, Britain, Japan and China in the past weeks came up with statements expressing their concerns over the situation, condemning the violence and urging parties to resolve their difference through constructive dialogue as the uncertainty gripped the fate of the polls in Bangladesh.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni on Wednesday hurriedly invited all foreign envoys in Dhaka to explain the government position after bitter exchanges between Hasina and Zia over the phone failed to ease the political tensions.
She told the envoys that the incumbent government was pledge-bound to hold the upcoming elections by January next year while it would firmly handle obstacles on way to the polls.
Zia declined to join Hasina over a dinner on October 27 and rejected her request to call off the subsequent 60-hour shutdown ending on Thursday evening, after violence claimed at least 18 lives.
The Prime Minister earlier this month suggested the formation of an all-party government for the polls’ oversight and asked the opposition to join talks over the proposition.
The opposition leader subsequently came up with an apparently complicated counter proposal for forming a non-party interim government with an “acceptable” figure as its head as BNP and its allies, including fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, believed elections keeping Hasina as the premier would not be credible.
Zia suggested that both the parties would each chose five people to constitute the proposed interim government from among the 20 former advisers of the past two non-party caretaker governments which oversaw the 1996 and 2001 general elections, installing respectively the Awami League and BNP to power.
Hasina’s proposal did not mention who would head the poll time interim government though the government leaders said she was supposed to continue as the prime minister.
BNP and its right wing allies have planned for tougher street campaigns after their 60-hour nationwide stoppage this week claimed at least 18 lives while the ruling Awami League asked its activists to mobilise strength amid visibly deepening crisis over the elections in Bangladesh.
Opposition sources said BNP-led 18-party alliance were contemplating enforcement of a fresh three-day nationwide shutdown from November 4 or a tougher campaign like “siege Dhaka” blocking the capital’s road communication systems with rest of the country.
Media reports meanwhile said the alliance already formed committees to “resist” the next parliamentary polls due ahead of January 25, 2014 under the incumbent government while extreme right wing Hefazat-e-Islam announced a plan to stage a grand rally in Dhaka on November 15, visibly to extend their hands to the opposition.
Awami League led 14-party ruling coalition, on the other hand, is set to stage a mammoth rally in Dhaka on Sunday and asked their activists to mobilise strengths to thwart the opposition “plot” to stall the polls.
By Anisur Rahman Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
