Dhaka – UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar
Fernandez-Taranco leaves Dhaka on Tuesday evening completing his
four-day mission.
He will complete his mission through holding a press conference at
5:30pm at Sonargaon Hotel in the city after his second meeting with
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, scheduled to be held at 4pm on the same
day.
The UN envoy met BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, senior leaders of Awami
League, BNP, Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, leaders of Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami during his busy time in Dhaka.
During his mission, the UN emissary also met government
representatives and civil society members, and discussed the ongoing
political situation ahead of the 10th Parliamentary elections.
On Monday, Taranco gave his first reaction to media and voiced his
optimism about a peaceful solution to the ongoing political deadlock
but said there must be a political will and a compromising attitude
among political parties.
“I do believe there’s a possibility of finding a peaceful solution to
the current political deadlock if we’ve a political will, (if) we’ve
leaderships, if we’ve an attitude of compromise, most importantly if
we’re able to engage in a peaceful dialogue,” he told reporters in his
quick but short statement at the Election Commission Secretariat.
Amid the escalation of violence and absence of political compromise
over the polls-time government, Taranco arrived here on December 6 and
started his mission the following day apparently to help the political
parties break the standoff.
Taranco will report back to the UN chief on the outcome of his
Bangladesh visit ahead of the election, said an official source.
He also visited Bangladesh from May 10 to 13 at the request of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
During his stay in Dhaka, he met the Prime Minister, the BNP
Chairperson, the Speaker of Parliament, the Foreign Minister, the
Chief Election Commissioner, leaders of major political parties, and
the representatives of civil society and the media. – UNB
The UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs on Monday
voiced his optimism about a peaceful solution to the ongoing political
deadlock but said there must be a political will and a compromising
attitude among political parties. “I’ve been talking to many
different interlocutors in Bangladesh. I do believe there’s a
possibility of finding a peaceful solution to the current political
deadlock if we’ve a political will, (if) we’ve leaderships, if we’ve
an attitude of compromise, most importantly if we’re able to engage in
a peaceful dialogue,” he told reporters in his quick but short
statement at the Election Commission Secretariat. This was Taranco’s
first media briefing since he started his mission here on Saturday,
aiming to encourage the country’s bickering political parties to
resolve their dispute over the composition of the election-time
cabinet through dialogue. Before making his statement, Taranco held
his second meeting for nearly 20 minutes with Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad at the EC secretariat. The
UN assistant secretary general said he would brief the media again
before leaving the country to give the details of his visit. “I know
you would like to hear more right now. I still have many other
meetings to go through. I want to assure that we’ll have the
opportunity to brief the media before I leave,” he added. The UN
envoy appreciated the very important role of the media here saying, ”I
appreciate the very important role of the media. You’ve been following
every step I’ve taken here. I’m very honoured. ” The UN delegation
led by Taranco reached the EC secretariat around 2:6pm. The meeting
began at 2:11pm and ended at 2:30 pm. Meanwhile, the CEC on Monday
afternoon also dropped a broad hint about a positive outcome following
the meeting urging all to wait and see what finally happens. “A
significant discussion is going on…let’s see what actually happens. I
should not tell you any thing more at this moment,” the CEC told
reporters before leaving his office. Rakibuddin made the remarks as
the journalists wanted to know the outcomes of his meeting with the UN
emissary. Earlier in the morning, Taranco held nearly an hour-long
meeting with a delegation of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami led by its
assistant secretary general Barrister Abdur Razzak from 10 am. Soon
after the meeting, Taranco and his team had a meeting with senior
Awami League leaders at Prime Minister’s Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi’s
Gulshan residence. The meeting started at 11.30 am and ended at
about 12.25pm. Dr Gowher Rizv and Awami League general secretary and
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Industries Minister Tofail Ahmed,
Land Minister Amir Hossain Amu, former Commerce Minister Faruk Khan
and AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif, among others,
joined the meeting. However, there was no media briefing after the
meeting as Awami League leaders were tightlipped about its outcome.
After the meeting with senior Awami League leaders, the UN envoy went
to the residence of Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander A
Nikolaev around 12:30pm and sat in a meeting there. Taranco held an
hour-long meeting with BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan
residence that began on 6pm. However, there was no formal briefing
from BNP after the meeting. He will sit with Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina again on Tuesday. A senior official at the Prime Minister’s
Office confirmed UNB about the meeting with the Prime Minister at her
official residence Ganobhaban at 4pm. Taranco arrived here on Friday
amid the country’s murky political situation that has cast a shadow on
its January-5 general election. His visit is aimed at encouraging
‘dialogue and conditions’ conducive to the parliamentary elections,
said a statement issued by UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka, Neal
Walker. Meanwhile, the UN envoy had a series of meetings with Awami
League and BNP leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and
opposition leader Khaleda Zia, on Saturday. On November 25, CEC Kazi
Rakibuddin Ahmad announced the schedule for the country’s 10th general
election fixing the voting date for January 5 amid BNP’s boycott
threat. – UNB
