Dialogue imperative for free, fair BD polls: US
Staff Reporter :
US State Department has said that political dialogue is important to achieve the goals for free and fair election in Bangladesh.
It also said that the US government would closely monitor the electoral environment in Bangladesh and continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders including the government and the opposition.
The remarks came during the weekly press briefing of the State Department in the Washington DC on Tuesday.
“The goals I outlined before for free and fair elections, we do believe that dialogue is important to achieving those goals.
We are closely monitoring the electoral environment in Bangladesh leading up to January’s election, and we take incidents of violence very seriously,” US Spokesperson Mathew Miller said.
He also said, ” We are engaging and will continue to engage with the government, with opposition, with civil society, and other stakeholders to urge them to work together for the benefit of the Bangladeshi people, to ensure free and fair elections that are conducted in a peaceful manner.”
He made these remarks when he was asked that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her press conference in the Gonobhaban on Tuesday said that she could hold dialogue with the opposition when President Joe Biden will do the same thing with the former President Donald Trump.
Posing another question that the upcoming election cannot be free and fair under the incumbent government, Miller said, “The holding of free and fair elections is the responsibility of everyone, all political parties, voters, government, civil society, and the media.”
He further said that the US government wants the same thing what the people of Bangladesh want and it was the free, fair and peaceful elections.
“What we want in Bangladesh is the same thing, the Bangladeshi people want, which are free and fair elections conducted in a peaceful manner,” he added.
The Spokesperson was also asked about the growing security concerns of US Ambassador Peter Haas and he replied that the US government expect the government of Bangladesh to comply with the obligations under the Vienna Conventions for the safe protection of diplomats.
Asked about whether the US government would impose further sanctions on Bangladesh, he said, “we don’t announce visa or any other sanctions before we make them, but we continue to support a free and fair election in Bangladesh and believe it should be conducted peacefully.”
Earlier in a briefing on Monday, Mathew Miller expressed concern for the police action on the opposition BNP when latter was holding its grand rally in front of their party office in Nayapaltan.
“We encourage the authorities to thoroughly investigate the incidents at the October 28th rally and to hold those responsible for violence accountable.
The holding of free and fair elections is the responsibility of everyone – voters, political parties, the government,” Miller said.
The clash between the BNP and the law enforcers led police to arrest some of BNP’s top brass, including Mirza Fakhrul and the BNP’s party office is being treated as ‘crime scene’ by the law enforcers.
After the confrontation, BNP announced their nationwide blockade programme for three days starting from Tuesday.
