Visiting US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs
Nisha Desai Biswal on Monday encouraged a secretary-level dialogue
between the country’s two major political parties for finding a way
forward to hold a ‘peaceful, free, fair and credible’ election. “The
announcement of the interim cabinet simply underscores the urgency for
a dialogue to take place immediately to determine a way forward for
peaceful, free, fair and credible election to take place…we’re pushing
for dialogue,” she told reporters at a crowded press conference at
American Club in the city. US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena was
also present. Biswal encouraged the top leaderships of the two
parties — Awami League and BNP — to empower secretaries general to
hold the crucial dialogue. “…I would say what’s most important right
now is dialogue.” Asked about the credibility of the interim
government without BNP, she said, “I think fundamentally the question
is…credibility will be the Bangladeshi people. The international
community will be making a determination based on the assessment of
the Bangladeshi people… And that’s the bottom line.” Asked whether
the election will be acceptable to the international community without
BNP, she replied leaving a counter-question: “Is it going to be
acceptable to Bangladeshi people? We support credible election in the
eyes of Bangladeshi people.” When pressed for her comment on that,
Biswal, an accomplished Indian-American woman, said, “It’s not for me
to determine.” Biswal was optimistic of a solution through dialogue
and said, “I’m an optimistic person by nature. I’ve the reason to have
hope. We do believe there’s a way forward. We believe that dialogue
needs to be happened.” The US Assistant Secretary said the US is not
interested in any particular outcome in Bangladesh through political
process. “We’re not interested in any particular outcome. We strongly
support the democratic process. That means peaceful, free, fair and
credible election.” Responding to question about reported
differences with India, she said, “The position of the US is very
clear. Our position is very consistent with the position of the
international community. I’ll leave it to others to clear their
positions. But I’m not aware of any difference.” She said all the
political parties should come together to make a determination to
establish a level-playing field to build people’s confidence. The US
official assured of US’s all-out support in holding such a peaceful
and credible election in Bangladesh. Justifying her support for a
secretary-level dialogue instead of top-level one, she said sometimes
this level brings results as technical issues are involved. On
election-time government, Biswal said it is for the major political
parties to determine how an election-time government should look like
but it requires dialogue, too. She also said all the parties in
Bangladesh should have a right for political space to freely and
peacefully express their views. “Violence of any kind, by any of the
participants in the political process can’t be tolerated…it’s not part
of democratic process.” Biswal highly appreciated Bangladesh’s
progress in the areas of socioeconomic development. I’m impressed by
the progress.” She also expressed her satisfaction over her meetings
with a wide range of people, civil society representatives, the
business community, labour bodies and political leaders. “It’s a
tremendous opportunity to hear from Bangladeshi people.” The US
official said the relations between Bangladesh and then USA is broad
and it is based on shared interest and shared values. She was
impressed of vibrant civil society and progress in various areas,
including the area of women empowerment. Biswal also mentioned that
she had an opportunity to discuss the challenges, the emerging
democracy of Bangladesh which is now confronting as the election is
getting nearer. On regional development issues, she laid emphasis on
integration between South Asia and Southeast Asia. “This is the
possibility for Bangladesh and people of Bangladesh.” Biswal arrived
here on Saturday on her first bilateral visit to Bangladesh and left
Dhaka for Washington Monday night. – UNB
