UN-brokered talks yield visibly no outcome to end Bangladesh election crisis

UN-brokered talks have visibly yielded no outcome to end election crisis as Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco wrapped up his six-day Bangladesh visit with merely the hope that the “two major parties will continue discussions”.

“I won’t answer that the dialogue failed ….,” said Taranco at his pre-departure press conference Wednesday evening.

He expressed his optimism saying, “solution still possible if political will is there.”
“Two major parties agreed to continue talks. And the third meeting between the two major parties has been scheduled.”

Taranco Tuesday extended his stay in Bangladesh by another day and deferred his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for Wednesday as he continued talks to end crisis over the next general elections.

But the Taranco-Hasina meeting which was scheduled for Wednesday has also been cancelled.

The UN envoy Saturday launched his hectic mission to reconcile disputes between the country’s two major political parties over polls-time government visibly as the last-ditch efforts to resolve the bloody conflict that left scores of people dead since January.

Two-time former minister Khaleda Zia has asked Hasina to bring back a non-party caretaker system, or else the opposition won’t participate in the next election because it fears an election without the non-party caretaker government will not be free and fair.

The UN envoy on political affairs heading a five-member delegation arrived in Dhaka on last Friday night on a four-day visit to negotiate between the feuding parties for holding the polls with participation of all.

From Saturday morning, the UN emissary met a cross section of people here including top political leaders, civil society men and envoys of different countries in Bangladesh and expressed hope that there is possibility of finding a peaceful solution to the deadlock.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday made a phone call to Hasina to express his concern over the prevailing situation and countrywide widespread violence which left dozens of people dead since last month.

During phone conversation, the UN chief also expressed the hope that the dialogue between Hasina’s Awami League (AL) and Khaleda’s BNP would continue and be fruitful.

The top leaders of Bangladesh’s two major political parties held phone talks on Oct. 26, the first direct conversation since January 2009 when the Hasina cabinet took oath of office.

Although both parties sought dialogue to end impasse over the formation of the polls-time government, but no headway has been made.

Against this backdrop, the UN engaged itself in Bangladesh’s election crisis and brokered the talks.

While the AL-led government proceeds with steps to hold the polls being in the power, the opposition BNP and its 17 allies demand a non-party caretaker government to oversee the polls slated for Jan. 5.

With the election less than a month away, HM Ershad, chairman of Jatiya Party which was a key ally of Hasina’s AL party-led ruling grand alliance until last month, said his party would also boycott the polls.

Former military strongman Ershad, who ruled Bangladesh for nearly nine years from 1982 to 1990, cited the lack of proper atmosphere as the reason for not participating in the polls.

The United States Wednesday said that “it is now more urgent than ever for both major parties to find a way forward to hold peaceful, free, and fair elections that are credible in the eyes of the Bangladeshi people.”

The US embassy in Dhaka in a statement also said that “We believe all parties should have space to freely and peacefully express their views. The government bears responsibility to provide such space; the opposition parties bear responsibility to use such space in a peaceful manner.”

It said the senseless violence of past days is especially reprehensible as innocent people, including young children, have fallen victim to arson and bombs.

Bangladesh’s main opposition Monday extended its 72-hour nationwide blockade to Friday morning.

The announcement of the ongoing blockade came hours before the end of its 131-hour non-stop blockade on Thursday evening.

Incidents of clash, arson, vandalism, chase and counter-chase, bomb explosions and detention were reported from many places in the country on Wednesday.

Analysts say Bangladesh as a leading contributor to the UN peacekeeping mission will likely suffer a big blow if its politicians fail to reach consensus in the UN-brokered talks.

Bangladesh plunged into a major political crisis in late 2006 and returned to democracy after two years of military rule following widely accepted parliament elections in 2008 under the caretaker government. Xinhua