Both ruling Awami League and the BNP are preparing their responses to the letters the UN chief had sent to their leaders, calling for effective steps to end the political impasse.
BNP sources said the letter sent to their chief Khaleda Zia had requested her to bring an end to the violence and they appreciate the UN secretary-general’s concerns.
On the other hand, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam confirmed they had got the letter and were preparing a response.
But he did not give any specific answer when asked at a press conference yesterday about whether UN chief Ban Ki-moon had requested Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to arrange talks.
Shahriar said Moon condemned and expressed concerns about the violence and hoped the government would take steps to make sure no violence occurred when the next general elections would be held.
Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations, recently sent separate letters to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, expressing concerns about the prevailing political crisis.
The letters also reportedly read that he had assigned his assistant, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, who has visited Bangladesh thrice, to mediate peace and stability.
BNP’s version
Party insiders said the BNP will soon give a reply to the UN chief’s letter, welcoming the initiative and informing him about the actual situation in Bangladesh right now.
“A reply will be given on time. We are awaiting our chief’s directives to fix a strategy. As we are a party to the proposed talks, we hope the UN chief will invite us to his office. We are waiting for that as well,” Osman Farruk, adviser to Khaleda, told journalists in the US yesterday.
A senior BNP leader said their reply to the UN chief will mention the fact that the government had never responded to Khaleda Zia’s repeated calls for a dialogue and that even her seven-point proposal for a solution was also ignored.
“Apart from that, extra-judicial killings, and the arrest and repression of opposition leaders and activists will also be communicated to the UN chief,” the leader said.
Khaleda Zia’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel yesterday said: “We have been talking about dialogue for a long time. Certainly, we see the UN initiative positively. Now we are observing how the government reacts to it. Because the first step toward a resolution has to come from the government. We hope the government will arrange talks to resolve the stalemate.”
According to an insider, the letter sent to Khaleda Zia mentioned that despite holding meetings with the political parties, Taranco had failed to resolve a similar crisis that had arose before the January 5 elections last year.
This time, the UN chief had requested Khaleda to cooperate with Taranco, the insider said.
Government says
Yesterday, junior Bangladesh foreign minister Md Shahriar Alam told reporters in his office: “We heard about the letter but, for some strange reason, it was delivered to us two weeks after it was written. We have asked our permanent representative to the UN to find out the reason behind the delay.”
Such letters can be sent via several channels, including Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the UN or the UN resident coordinator based in Dhaka.
Asked if there is any possibility of UN Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco visiting Dhaka, the junior minister said “not in the near future.”
“But it was mentioned in the letter that if the government wants and if necessary, he may visit Dhaka in the near future.”
Shahriar also said they do not think the letter puts the government under any pressure.
“There have been interactions with the newly appointed ambassadors in Bangladesh, and nobody has said anything about putting pressure on the government,” he said.
Over the last one month, new US, Canadian, and Chinese ambassadors submitted their credentials to President Abdul Hamid.
“The government will ensure it does not do anything that might invite international criticism,” he said.
He said he knows the UN chief has also written to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, but claimed he does not anything about the content.
“The government’s position is very clear. We do not want to sit in a dialogue with murderers. We want to eliminate violence,” Shahriar affirmed.
Diplomatic efforts
These are Ban Ki-moon’s first letters to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia after the January 5, 2014 elections.
The UN chief had written to the arch rivals before the January elections as well, setting out similar calls for ending similar violence that sprung from a feud over the form of government that should oversee elections.
Taranco came to Bangladesh thrice in 2012 and 2013 as UN secretary-general’s envoy in order to mend differences between the Awami League and BNP.
In December 2013, about a month before the elections, he came to Dhaka and got the two parties to sit together for talks, but failed to bring any resolution.
Earlier this week, new US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat said her country deplored the unconscionable attacks, including bus burnings and train derailments, which killed and wounded a good number of people.
She also emphasised the US does not back any particular political force or party in Bangladesh and her country was ready to help if requested.