US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman meets BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan residence.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Friday informed US under secretary of state for political affairs Wendy Sherman about the ‘vote fraud’ in Tuesday’s elections to three major city corporations and provided her with documents in this regard, reports United News of Bangladesh.
The BNP chief at a meeting at her Gulshan house with the visiting US under-secretary narrated how the ruling Awami League manipulated the polls.
Before leaving Dhaka, Wendy Sherman went to Khaleda’s house at about 4:30pm and held nearly a half an hour meeting with her.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, BNP standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan said issues relating to city polls, Bangladesh’s latest political situation and the country’s socio-economic situation came up for discussions at the parley.
He said the BNP chief projected the country’s political situation, the government’s repressive acts, vote rigging in the city polls, sacking of opposition-backed elected representatives from different local government bodies, repression on the opposition leaders and activists and filing of ‘false’ cases against them.
Khaleda also provided the US undersecretary with various documents and footage on the issues, he added.
Apart from Moyeen Khan, BNP chief’s advisers Reaz Rahman, Sabihuddin Ahmed and US ambassador Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat were present at the meeting.
Asked what Wendy Sherman told them about the city polls, Moyeen Khan declined to make any comment. ‘We don’t want to say anything about it. The US has already voiced its concern over the elections.
Source: New Age
If BNP thinks that these foreign friends will solve the political problems of Bangladesh, it will only ensure its demise. Rather BNP may consider the following points:
1. BNP should declare itself as a 100% democratic party open to all citizens and welcome every democracy-loving Bangladeshi to join the party ranks. BNP may use the current quiet time to hold it’s party councils at grassroots, district and national levels and elect leaders by 100% direct votes of primary members at all levels. BNP may like to invite dignitaries and diplomats as observers at it’s national council, which must be held in the coming months.
2. Since the city council election proved to the common people that fair election is not possible under AL and current EC, they will stand behind BNP and the civil society in order to launch a one-point movement – “Establish True Democracy in Bangladesh”. Such movement must include the demand to make necessary changes to the current constitution in order to bring the country and democracy back to its people. http://www.prothom-alo.com/opinion/article/517492/%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4-%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%AD%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2015/05/02/282525#.VUP8uZOE53o
3. Bangladesh Army, which showed its commitment and success in presenting with a clean voter list to the nation, should also be able to hold a free and fair election as caretaker government with Army Chief being the head of the caretaker government for 90 days prior to every national election. This is how the patriotic Arm Forces of Bangladesh can make a vital contribution to the nation and feel proud of their existence and hence not grabbing power unconstitutionally any more. A speedy amendment of the constitution must make room for this.
4. Apart from membership drive and holding party council, the immediate priority of BNP should be to start communicating people, press and the civil society so that a national dialogues can start taking place to discuss constitutional amendments in order to fix all the issues of the election system of Bangladesh to rid this nation from all these nonsense once and for all. Foreign diplomats, friendly countries and international bodies should be kept informed for their continued support in the process.
Geo-political-economical interests of India decide who stays in power in Bangladesh.
US desperately needs India to contain China in this region & will not stop India from interfering in BD politics.
China very keen on increasing its presence in BD including billions of dollar investment on mega projects like Deep Sea Ports, but these projects will never materialize bcz India/USA do not want that to happen.
Visits by Wendy Sherman & UN mediators carry little significance, these are just eye wash & stage managed shows to fool the world.
Democracy can wait for now in B’desh, a subject more suited for academic discussion in the living rooms of urban elites & pages of newspapers. AL will be in power for next 50 yrs, of course, with support from US,EU & India.
AL has palyed its cards right, so far.
I completely agree with Rabbani that current geo-politics and economic and military exigencies imply that Hasina’s government that has virtually turned Bangladesh into a vassal state and an errand boy of the Indo/US imperialism will be in power as long as its backers want it to be unless of course 80% of Bangladeshis rise one day and say, enough is enough. Unfortunately, the latter is unlikely to happen any time soon, but it will not be fifty years for sure. Power and politics have a strange way of changing its course, sometime without notice!