UN and USA play the music of dialogue

[This was published in the Daily Financial Express on 22 December and in the weekly Dhaka Courier on 21 December 2012]

The recently concluded visits of two high profile foreign dignitaries to Bangladesh one by UN delegation led by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez Taranca from 6-9 December at the request of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in order to exchange views on the political situation in the country and ongoing UN electoral assistance and the other by US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake from 6-9 December 2012 with a view to attending the women Entrepreneurship Symposium as well as to hold talks on evolving political situation with top leaders of the government and the opposition and civil society members have further geared up the ongoing episode in the political landscape in Bangladesh. The visits carry importance of the first water pointedly for the reasons that (a) they were a kind of sincere initiatives to see and assess in reality whether participation of all the political parties including major opposition BNP in elections to the 10^th parliament under the immediate past party/alliance-led government following the Constitution(Fifteenth Amendment) Act of 2011 is possible and viable keeping and upholding the overall spirit and tempo of  favorable atmosphere for holding free and fair elections and (b) If not, then to study the importance and viability of a Non-Party, Neutral Care-Taker Government for holding free and fair elections to national legislature and finally report back to their respective authorities with necessary suggestions accordingly.

In fact, both of them met leaders from various backgrounds covering the government, the opposition political parties, professional and business bodies, civil societies, media persons and other stakeholders concerning the next polls. Both of them listened and learnt more and talked less cautiously and diplomatically. All the time the focal point in the series of meetings,, except of course with the government, was ‘re-institution of non-party, neutral CTG to create a favorable atmosphere for free and fair elections to the next 10^th Parliament’ about which neither of them sounded openly. Even Ershad’s Jatio Party, which once declared determinedly that it would participate in the next elections to Parliament under the constitutional frame of post-fifteenth amendment to the constitution, now also attached importance for immediate dialogue between AL and BNP to settle the burning and thorny issue. Therefore, the common message they got out of the series of meetings and understandings from Bangladesh side minus the ruling alliance was ‘for a free and fair election to parliament revival of a type of non-party, neutral CTG is a condition precedent’.

However, at the end of the tour of the UN delegation UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) released a news on 10 December that contained ‘while in the capital Mr. Fernandez-Taranco met with top government and political party leaders – including the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister – as well as with national electoral officials, in order to exchange views on the political situation in the country and ongoing UN electoral assistance.

He also met with representatives of civil society, the media and the diplomatic community, to exchange views.

DPA noted that Mr. Fernandez-Taranco stressed to all interlocutors that the next parliamentary elections should be “peaceful, inclusive and credible to give voters a real choice at the polls.”

“He said that from the UN perspective, free, fair and credible elections would present an opportunity for the nation to further consolidate its democracy and that a credible election and strengthened democracy would contribute to inclusive economic growth and social achievements as well,” the Department said.

Mr. Fernandez-Taranco underlined that a conducive environment for free elections must be promoted by national actors through political dialogue and supported by the people,” DPA added. “In this context, he regretted the violence that erupted during the road blockade on 9 December 2012 which resulted in death of several people and the injury of many others.”

To create such a conducive environment, the UN official encouraged all electoral stakeholders, in particular political parties, to work together and engage in constructive dialogue in order to achieve inclusive and successful parliamentary polls.

“He also called on political parties, civil society and media to engage constructively with the Bangladesh Election Commission to ensure a suitable and enabling environment in which it can effectively operate and fulfill its mandate,” DPA noted, adding that Mr. Fernandez-Taranco said that the UN will continue to work in support of the people of Bangladesh, including through technical assistance to the Bangladesh Election Commission.

This is very important to note here that there is no mention of opposition’s demand for a non-party, neutral CTG in the DPA news release and its contexts rotated around the line of transfer of power through free and fair elections under strengthened Election Commission, although Fernandez in response to a question by media people at his press brief in Dhaka on 9 December told distinctively that ‘The UN has no official position with regard to the election-time government. It is the political actors who should develop an accepted mechanism to hold peaceful and credible polls’. He hoped a solution with regard to debate over the form of election-time government would be found through dialogue and engagement’ among all the political actors. ‘Discussions are imperative to develop a mechanism how a conducive environment could be created and the mechanism for holding the polls must be home-grown and the UN would not say anything about it he added.

Similar views were expressed by the US Assistant Secretary of State Mr. Blake who, during the press brief on 11 December, diplomatically avoided all sorts of party-based political issues making him confined to the parameter of ‘friendship, understanding, cooperation and non-interference’. Mr. Blake critically emphasized to settle the issue through dialogue between or among the political parties setting aside or sidetracking all sorts of violent acts. Important is the point to see that he did not get appointment to call on the Prime Minister while Mr. Fernandez was smoothly blessed with such a privilege.

Understandably enough, here dialogue means dialogue between AL and BNP that involves necessarily Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia. Now the leading question is who will take initiative to create an environment for meaningful dialogue between our two iron leaders of the petticoat parties AL and BNP? Shall it be the home-grown device and initiative? Or should it come from outside the boundary of Bangladesh what we usually call ‘foreign mediation’ or ‘foreign interference’ in the superlative expression? Possibility of the former is almost bleak and, therefore, as ‘Hobson’s choice’ comes in the latter in line with our experience of the past. So, let us say loudly bravo, bravo the leaders of Bangladesh for voluntarily welcoming ‘foreign interference’ even after the passing of forty one years of independence simply on question of free and fair elections to the next 10^th parliament.