India wants to see an election which “as many parties as possible” contest and people accept the results, its Foreign Secretary says.
“It is for the people of Bangladesh to decide. We would like to see an election where people have a chance to exercise their franchise freely, and fairly and elections results accepted by people,” Sujatha Singh said on Wednesday
She made the remarks during an “interaction” with some senior journalists in Dhaka.
The Foreign Secretary arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday morning on her maiden visit to Bangladesh amid escalating political violence in Bangladesh before the Jan 5 elections.
The BNP that leads the Opposition boycotted the polls and launched a movement to what it says install a “non-party” cabinet to oversee the elections.
She said India’s interest was in a “stable and prosperous” Bangladesh and to support its democracy.
But she said there was “no set definition” of democracy when Editor Reazuddin Ahmed cited UN definition and asked whether polls without major opposition would be defined as inclusive in democracy.
“Don’t try and pin me down to UN definitions, Oxford definitions or western definitions.
“You have democracies and there are different kinds of democracies in different countries of the world.
“Democracies have to adopt the local conditions, local situation. No democracies are exactly like others,” Singh continued.
She observed that it was the people who will decide what type of democracy Bangladesh will have.
“I would not go into details,” she said when journalists pressed her about what she had discussed during her meetings with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition.
“We want our relations with Bangladesh to be broad based and inclusive,” she said in her opening remarks. She added that India would remain “as honest and enduring partner in your nation building efforts”.
“The opposition has an important role to play in democracy, and Bangladesh is no different,” she, however, said.
Singh said she conveyed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the importance India attaches to having good relations with Bangladesh and to peace and stability in Bangladesh”.
“We share not just common borders but common challenges,” she said and poited out that both countries cannot “remain indifferent to or unaffected by developments” in each other’s territories.
She said India’s consistent view had been that “a strong, stable, independent and well development Bangladesh” which she said was not only in the interests of Bangladesh’s people but also of the people of the region.
Singh said “this (political transition) is an important time” for Bangladesh as elections were the ‘intrinsic’ part of the democratic process.
India hoped that the upcoming elections would “respond to the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh and that they will be free, fair, impartial and peaceful and find wide acceptability”.
India had “deep respect for the wisdom and achievements” of Bangladesh’s people, the Foreign Secretary added.
She, however, said she came here on a “goodwill visit” as part of learning neighbours after being the Foreign Secretary.
“I am not here with the task of mediator”.
Replying to a question, she said building democratic institutions in democracies were like ‘a chicken and egg’ situation.
“Unless you have elections, how do you build the tradition of democratic process? You have to have the elections in order to build the institutions of democracy.”
Asked, she said that India had discussed Bangladesh issue with its “strategic partners” like the United States.
“Eyes of the world are now on Bangladesh,” she said, “We wish Bangladesh well at this time.”
During her daylong hectic parleys, she met with the Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad who on Tuesday announced boycott of the Jan 5 polls despite throwing candidates in the fray.
After landing at about 10.30am in a special Indian Air Force aircraft, she met with the new Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.
She also held bilateral talks with her counterpart Md Shahidul Haque and will leave Dhaka Thursday morning.
Observers see her visit as a crucial development as the Indian political leadership is busy with their own general elections, leaving the diplomats to navigate the foreign policy and manage India’s relationship in a complex regional environment.
Source: Bd news24