New Delhi
25 April 2007
the caretaker government in Dhaka was allowed to continue beyond reasonable time,
Awami League President Begum Sheikh Hasina Wajed said. She ruled out reconciliation
with Begum Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party but insisted that nobody should
be forced into exile.
"An unelected and unconstitutional government should not run for long because there is
no transparency and no accountability," she said in a telephone interview to this
newspaper from London.
(A PTI report from Dhaka said that the caretaker government on Wednesday night
withdrew an earlier ban on the return of Ms Wajed. The Home Ministry issued a
statement saying that the bar on her return home has been lifted. Another press
statement issued simulteneously denied "speculated reports and opinions" about the
forced "exile" and restriction on movement of Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson
Begum Khaleda Zia. When contacted in London, an aide of Ms Wajed said confirmed
reports of lifting of ban but said that Ms Wajed has not received a formal communication
yet.)
She said that as per Article 58 of the Constitution, election should be held within 90 days
but the caretaker government has failed to meet the April 12 deadline. (Chief Adviser Dr
Fakhruddin Ahmed took the reins of the caretaker government on January 12.)
In an oblique reference to Pakistan and possibly Myanmar, she feared that the military in
Bangladesh could seek to further cement its position. "The (Bangladesh) military can
see the neighbourhood and get influenced," she observed but hastened to add that the
people of Bangladesh were "different" and they were "conscious of their rights".
She said that she would return to Bangladesh the moment the embargo is lifted. "My
conscience is clear, I didn't do anything wrong. I will face the law ... let the law takes its
own course," she said.
Ms Wajed, who was prevented from boarding a British Airways flight on Sunday to
Dhaka, said that the embargo on her was illegal, unethical and a violation of her human
rights. "On the one hand the caretaker government issues a warrant against me and on
the other hand, it puts an embargo on my return ... it shows their double standards ...
shows that the cases of murder and extortion are false," she asserted.
When asked why she chose to leave Bangladesh, she said that she had no reason to
suspect the motive of the caretaker government. "I spoke to two advisers of the caretaker
government including Mr MA Matin ... My daughter-in-law was ill and my daughter is
expecting in July. They are in the United States and they needed me. As a mother, I had
to do my duty," she explained.
She accused the caretaker government of targeting her. "The caretaker government is a
fruit of our movement. The Bangladesh National Party led by Begum Khaleda Zia
destroyed the country, they tried to rig the election because they lost popular support.
We tried to stop them and rejected the fraudulent voter list. We supported the caretaker
government," she said, showing her disgust at the actions of the caretaker government
headed by Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed.
Ms Wajed said that there was no question of her joining hands with her arch rival Behum
Khaleda Zia as some Bangladshi media reports suggested. "Why should I go with them
when they have given rise to this situation?" she said but she clarified that she would
not want anybody including Begum Zia to be asked to go into exile. "If she (Khaleda) has
committed any wrong let the law of land takes its own course," she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment