DHAKA: Not any chance of delaying. The setback of scheduled election has only one meaning- the constitution has been compromised. But diplomats are rushing constantly for a settlement by postponing the election.

Just two-three days before the scheduled election, the series meeting of diplomats with the opposition leaders and their unwillingness to reveal the agenda of those closed-door meetings, aroused significant suspicions about their biasness to the opposition.

Last Wednesday, there was a closed-door meeting held between the Shamser Mobin Chowdhury, the vice-president of BNP and US ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena. On the other, EU is not yet disappointed after the failure of ‘Taranko mission’ initiated earlier by the UN.

EU is still pushing diplomatic endeavor. British High commissioner Robert Gibson also provoked some doubts. Returning to Dhaka after the Christmas vacation, he could not wait a single hour but wanted to have a meeting with the opposition leader Khaleda Zia.

The continuous appeal to re-schedule the election has stimulated questions among the public. At the same moment, the echoing of the demands of opposition party through conferences by the so called civil society closed to the diplomats, are not considered as mere coincidence by concerned groups.

Regarding the diplomats’ rush hour endeavor, a senior leader of Awami League said, BNP is happy to see the activities of the diplomats and that clearly points out that the diplomats are no longer remain neutral. Another leader said, the effort of the diplomats for taking steps which are contradictory to the constitution are seemed by them as apparent violation of diplomatic courtesy.

The leader also said, many mid-eastern countries overtly showed their support for the BNP-Jamat coalition regardless of showing respect towards democracy or on the previous election result. Yet, a BNP wing intellectual said, recently India also demonstrated gaudy support towards Awami League.

Regarding this country, the role of Indian diplomats and Islamists are comprehensible, but the reason, why the western tilted towards BNP-Jamat is truly surprising.  

Before that, the night before Kader Molla’s hanging, US secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called Prime minister  urging not to carry out the sentence. The people of Bangladesh did not accept those appeal contentedly.

Usually, the European Union expressed their condemnation to the execution of the war criminals due to their moral standing against the death sentence. But this punishment is still in action in many countries including USA. So, in this case, their baking for the war criminals are considered as their holding up the human rights of the war criminals rather then hearing the demanding voices for justice of those killed and tortured brutally, and their relatives in the war of ’71.

The situation created due to the position of the diplomats towards the trial of war criminals, along with the anti-constitutional effort regarding the election stirred up several questions. Observers think, the exertion of strong lobbying by BNP-Jamat inside and outside of the country, along with some activities of some members of the civil society to postpone the election are responsible for such bizarre situation.

BDST: 1945 HRS, JAN 03, 2014
AKA