Ruling Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Thursday said that the United States alone could not take any hard decision on Bangladesh as the country’s friends in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region were not echoing the same with the US.
‘America alone could not impose any hard decision on Bangladesh as the country’s friends in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region are not echoing the same,’ the AL leader said responding to a question whether US would take any action against Bangladesh after the January 7 general election.
At a press briefing held at the AL president Sheikh Hasina’s political office in the capital’s Dhanmondi, Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, also said that the European Union and the US had a tussle over taking hard line on Bangladesh issues.
‘We have friends in foreign countries. They also keep all news about Bangladesh. They [foreign friends] also know the situation how prime minister Sheikh Hasina is going to hold the general election for the country’s constitutional continuity so that the country could not face any anarchic situation,’ he added
Asked about a particular foreign buyer had mentioned a clause regarding trade sanctions on a letter of credit for exporting readymade garment products, Quader said, ‘Our prime minister earlier told that Bangladesh would not import from those countries that would impose sanctions against the country.’
Asked why there was such hide-and-seek about the Wednesday’s meeting with the Jatiya Party and issues discussed in the meeting, Quader said, ‘We need coordination among the participating political parties in the election. The anti-election forces are doing ill politics and we need coordination, unity and initiative to make the upcoming election a free, fair, credible and peaceful one.’
He said that there was no hide-and-seek over the meeting and it was a political discussion and nothing else.
Replying to another question about sharing seats with the JP, the AL general secretary claimed that
there was no discussion over seat-sharing with the Jatiya Party.
Asked about whether AL would join elections in a coalition with the Jatiya Party, he said that they did not discuss the issue and were yet to take the decision.
AL presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, its joint general secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretary Mirza Azam and office secretary Biplab Barua, among others, were present at the briefing.
The major opposition parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have boycotted the national polls, demanding resignation of the Awami League government and holding the polls under a non-party caretaker administration.
The international community, including the US, the United Nations and the EU, have recently been pressing for a free, fair and peaceful election in Bangladesh.
