A BNP delegation is likely to visit the USA early next month at the invitation of the US State Department to discuss Bangladesh’s political crisis and to engage in dialogue with the Awami League to find a solution to the stalemate regarding the arrangements for the upcoming elections.
A highly placed source at the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune last night that the Awami League received an invitation from the US State Department. However, a number of senior leaders of the party said they had no knowledge of the invitation.
A senior leader of the opposition BNP said: “A BNP team comprising of a few members is likely to visit Washington DC at the invitation of the US State Department with the objective of reducing the gap between the two major political parties and coming to some kind of electoral arrangement in the wake of the failure of the UN mediation.”
A number of BNP leaders said they were preparing for the talks, but were yet to finalise the team.
AL Advisory Council member Amir Hossain Amu, who is to accompany Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to New York for the UN General Assembly, said: “Why do we have to go to the USA for dialogue? We can talk here in Bangladesh.”
When asked whether the government received any invitation from the State Department, Amu said: “I do not think this is correct.”
Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Sunday to attend the 68th UNGA session, and will return home on September 30. A number of senior Awami League leaders and ministers will also accompany the prime minister, officials said.
Hasina changed her mind regarding attending the UNGA a day after it was reported in the media that she would not attend. The prime minister, mentioning her “busy” schedule at home, had told her cabinet colleagues on September 9 that she would not go to New York to attend the assembly.
Meanwhile, BNP Chairperson and Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia replied to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s letter, expressing her concerns over the next polls.
“Khaleda Zia on Wednesday wrote to the US Secretary of State John Kerry,” Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, vice-chairman of the party, said on Thursday.
A top official at the Prime Minister's Office said they were writing the draft of the reply to Kerry’s letter and it would be sent in a few days. Ambassador-at-large Ziauddin was preparing the draft, the official said.
Shamsher Mobin quoted Khaleda as saying in the letter: “The way world leaders expressed concern, the same way people of the country are also worried about the next polls. A meaningful dialogue is the only way to solve the prevailing political crisis.”
The letter states that dialogue depends upon the government’s will, Mobin said, adding: “The United Nations took initiatives in the past and if it does it now, the BNP will respond positively.”
After receiving a letter from John Kerry, the BNP last Monday briefed foreign diplomats in Dhaka about the party’s stance on the next parliamentary polls.
Kerry had sent letters to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia on September 8, urging the two top leaders to find a way to hold free, fair and credible elections.
US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena went to the Prime Minister’s Office and the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office to hand over the letters. BNP Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury received the letter on behalf of Khaleda.
Mozena declined to elaborate on the contents of Kerry’s letter: “Obviously I would not go into the context of the letters at all but the thrust of the letters is to encourage both leaders to find a way forward for free, fair and credible elections.
“The whole world is coming together to support elections in Bangladesh and then Secretary Kerry is adding his voice,” Mozena said.
Kerry wrote to the two top leaders just 15 days after the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had made requests to them over phone to reach an amicable solution.
Earlier in May, Ban sent Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, apparently to create grounds for political dialogue.
Taranco met the prime minister, opposition leader, speaker, chief election commissioner, leaders of political parties and selected members of civil society.
After the meetings, he expressed concern that time was running out to find a solution to holding free, fair, credible and non-violent elections.
