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Bangladesh Govt. attempts to bring Hasina, Khaleda Zia together |
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The release from jail on Sept. 11 of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and the earlier release of Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina on bail have strengthened the impression in political circles in Dhaka that the Government is keen to have their parties participate in the coming elections in December to give the poll credibility. Both of them had threatened to boycott the elections if the witchhunt did not stop. The Government’s effort to sideline these two leaders from their parties and allow a new leadership to take over have apparently failed. It now seems to have no alternative but to sue for peace with these two leaders for the sake of holding elections which is seen by the international community as credible and transparent.
A report from Dhaka says the caretaker Government is working hard to bring the two bitter rivals, Sheikh Hasina and Begum Zia, together for talks ahead of the parliamentary poll planned for the third week of December. The government of Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed is trying to get the two leaders meet as soon as former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returns from the US where she has gone for medical treatment. According to lawyer Rafiqul Haq who defends both the former Premiers in the court, Hasina has shown a positive attitude towards the proposed meeting. Haq told a private TV channel that he had spoken to Hasina on phone and she said she would convey the final decision after consulting party leaders on her return.
It is widely believed that the caretaker Government which had launched a much hyped anti-corruption drive against the two Prime Ministers and their former ministers and aides finds that it is unable to erode their support base among people. It has, therefore, shifted its stand possibly after failing to negate their indomitable influence in politics. The release of Sheikh Hasina in June and of Begum Khaleda Zia and her elder son Tarique Rahman earlier this month followed intense negotiations leading to agreements with them and the present government. Under the deal, Begum Zia’s party, the BNP, would join the current dialogue with the Election Commission and the Government, participate in parliamentary elections and keep Tarique Rahman out of the polls by sending him abroad for treatment. Khaleda Zia is reported to have had a meeting with four government advisors and telephonic talks with the head of the caretaker Government Fakhruddin Ahmed.
The release of Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia basically removes two of the major hurdles to the normalization of politics. The caretaker Government now seems to be all praise for the ‘contribution’ of the two key leaders in the country’s political history, and has said it would organize a face-to-face meeting between Hasina and Khaleda for the good of the nation.
Political observers say now that Khaleda and Hasina are free, Bangladesh will have a new political wind blowing, mainly in the direction of the December elections. Indications are that the pro-Islamic groups are likely to rally round Khaleda with a greater level of enthusiasm than before. In the absence of Sheikh Hasina who is yet to announce her return from the US, the “pro-liberation camp led by the Awami League may find the going tough.
India, Bangladesh boundary talks inconclusive
A three-day technical-level meeting between India and Bangladesh over the delimitation of their maritime boundary centering on the Bay of Bengal ended in disagreements on the midstream flow of the common coastal river Hariabhnaga. “We’ve difference of opinion on the flow of the common river Hariabhnaga,” M. Mahmood, Bangaldesh Additional Foreign Secretary, told reporters after the hectic negotiations. He said the Indian side claimed that midstream flows on the eastern side of the Hariabhanga near South Talpatty (new mooring), while Bangladesh claimed that it flows on the western side of the river. The Hariabhanga is located at the estuary near the disputed Talpatty Island in the Bay of Bengal. Over the years the river has changed its course.
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