The ongoing political crisis of Bangladesh should be resolved by the political parties of the country, says Lord Avebury, Co-chairman of the All Party parlaiemntary Group of United Kingdom. Addressing a seminar in the committee room of the House of Lords in London on Wednesday night, he also stressed the need for a participatory, credible and fair election to groom the democratic process in Bangladesh. Representatives of ruling Awami League and the main opposition BNP from Bangladesh were present in the seminar.
Though leaders of both AL and BNP were of the opinion that power should be transferred through a democratic process, they have failed to reach a consensus on the election system.
Issues related to corruption among political parties, labour unrest in RMG sector, war crime trial and political atmosphere came up in the discussion.
The AL delegation was led by Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina’s Administration Affairs adviser HT Imam. Members of the delegation included Suranjit Sen Gupta, Abdul Matin Khashru MP, Saber Hossin Chowdhury MP, Tarana Halim MP and Dipangkar Talukder.
The BNP delegation was led by party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Members of the delegation Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, Ameer Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Nasir Uddin Oshim, Barrister Nawshad Jamir, and Nitai Roy Chowdhury took part in the discussion.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that BNP was not responsible for the oppression of minorities in Bangladesh.
He demanded that the next general elections should be held under the caretaker government.
Expressing concern over the mayhem of Hefazat-e-Islam, adviser HT Imam said, “The way they have engaged in arson and killings it appears that they have started war against the state.” Lord Avebury, the organizer of the seminar, said that Britain and the European Union hoped that Bangladesh would hold an acceptable election overcoming the recent problems.
-With The Independent input
