UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernández
Taranco arrived here on Friday evening amid the country’s murky
political situation that has cast a shadow on its January-5 general
election. Taranco reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport
around 7:55 pm by an Emirates flight. His visit is aimed at
encouraging ‘dialogue and conditions’ conducive to parliamentary
elections scheduled for January 5, said a statement issued by UN
Resident Coordinator in Dhaka, Neal Walker. Taranco will start his
official tour on Saturday and will meet Foreign Secretary M Shahidul
Haque at 10 am, Foreign Minister AH Mahmud Ali at 10:30am at the
latter’s office on the day. He will meet Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina at 4pm at her official residence Ganobhaban and BNP Chairperson
Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan residence at 7pm on Saturday, according to
PMO and BNP sources. During his stay here, the UN envoy will also
meet Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, senior leaders
of the Awami League and BNP, representatives from the government,
civil society and the international community to help ensure free,
fair and credible polls in Bangladesh. Taranco will leave Dhaka on
December 10 and report back to the UN chief on the outcome of his
Bangladesh visit ahead of the election, said an official source. On
May 13 in Dhaka, he gave an idea what could be the consequences in
case of unreliable polls and fruitless dialogue saying, “Everybody
knows the consequences. The history of Bangladesh is already a good
indicator what consequences can be if you don’t have a free, fair and
credible election…the political actors could clearly understand what
the consequences would be.” Last week, Ban Ki-moon wrote to
Bangladesh’s two top leaders — Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia — and
encouraged them to reach a mutually agreed consensus through
‘constructive dialogue’ to hold a ‘non-violent’ election in Bangladesh
with the participation of all parties. The UN envoy visited
Bangladesh from May 10 to 13 at the request of Secretary-General of
the United Nations Ban Ki-moon. During his last visit to 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. Taranco conveyed to all interlocutors a
strong message from the Secretary-General about the urgent need for
more meaningful and constructive political dialogue to create
conducive conditions for the successful holding of the election.
During his last visit, the UN envoy also stressed the need for an
early solution to the issue of a polls-time government through
dialogue to ensure a free, fair and peaceful national election
reminding political parties that ‘time is running out’. Earlier, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and urged them to hold talks for a
peaceful resolution of the political crisis. – UNB
