Dialogue with the BNP-led alliance very likely will not be mentioned in the government’s forthcoming response to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The response will say the government will not seek assistance from the UN to resolve the crisis, a senior government official said.
“We appreciate that the secretary general sent a letter to the prime minister, and we will send our response very soon,” the official said.
“We would say the next election will be held in due course as Bangladesh is a democratic country, and the government would continue to uphold the spirit of democracy,” he added.
The communication will say the BNP made a mistake by not taking part in the last general election and that the whole country should not be penalised for its error, he added.
The response, which is being prepared by the Prime Minister’s Office, will be finalised within days, he added.
The UN secretary general sent a letter to the Prime Minister in the last week of January but it was received by her two weeks after it was sent.
The government’s response will highlight that the government is trying to contain the ongoing BNP-Jamaat-led violence, which is finally declining, the official said.
Ban Ki-moon also sent a letter to BNP chief Khaleda Zia and her party has already replied.
Earlier, State Minister for Foreign Affiars Md Shahriar Alam said Ban Ki-moon’s letter condemned the ongoing violence and expressed hope the government would ensure that violence does not occur during the next general elections.
Khaleda’s meeting with diplomats
The top diplomats who met Khaleda Zia on Tuesday evening urged her to put an end to the violent programmes, diplomatic sources said.
The country has been racked by political violence for over two months, leaving over 100 people dead in arson attacks, murders and extra-judicial killings.
The members of the diplomatic corps expressed grave concern over the economy at the meeting, one diplomat said.
In response, Khaleda told them she wanted general elections as soon as possible, he added.
The top diplomats of Australia, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States were at the meeting with Khaleda Zia.
After the meeting, they issued a statement calling for an end to violence and encouraged confidence-building measures – including the de-escalation of Bangladesh’s political conflict – in the interest of fostering safety, stability, growth, human rights and democracy.
