Bangladesh’s Zia open to deal to end turmoil
PM urged to step down for neutral polls
DHAKA: She has been stuck in her office for 40 days and slapped with a series of charges over the deadly violence outside, but Bangladesh’s opposition leader Khaleda Zia says she and her arch enemy Sheikh Hasina can still reach a deal to end the turmoil.
In an interview, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Ms Zia accused Prime Minister Hasina of killing democracy and the ruling Awami League of being behind the violence that has killed scores since the turn of the year.
But she also stressed her desire to reach a consensus to pull the country back from the brink, even if it meant talking to her nemesis.
Ms Zia, who has twice served as prime minister, has not set foot outside her offices in downtown Dhaka ever since the security forces barricaded her compound on Jan 3 to prevent the 69-yearold from spearheading a mass pro-democracy protest.
Since then Bangladesh has witnessed an upsurge of violence that has revived memories of the bloody build-up to Ms Hasina’s controversial walkover re-election on Jan 5 last year in which more than 100 people died.
In her first interview with the foreign media since her confinement, Ms Zia said she feared the bloodshed would get worse unless the two women could agree on a way to contest new elections under a neutral caretaker government.
“Every conscious and conscientious person in Bangladesh knows that the only way to resolve the current political crisis is to hold an inclusive, competitive and meaningful election,” Ms Zia said on Wednesday.
“The more quickly it can be arranged, the better it is for everyone. If it is delayed, the crisis could become even more complex.”
In her interview, she re-iterated longstanding demands for Ms Hasina to step aside and allow elections to take place under a “neutral” government.
More than 80 people have been killed in political violence since Jan 3. Many of the victims have died in firebombings of buses and trucks since Ms Zia ordered her supporters to stage a transport blockade that is in its sixth week.