‘Break cycle of poll violence’

The British High Commissioner in Dhaka has urged political parties to try and break the five-year cycle of electoral violence and instability in Bangladesh.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 5 June 2014, 12:19 PM
Updated : 5 June 2014, 12:37 PM

Robert Gibson acknowledged that the Jan 5 election was held under the terms of the Constitution, but said the UK was “disappointed that so many people did not have the opportunity to participate”.

He said this while speaking to diplomatic correspondents in Dhaka on Thursday.

The envoy made the comment amid the international community’s call to hold political dialogue among major parties to break the impasse created around the parliamentary elections in which major opposition BNP did not participate.

“The imperative now is for all parties to work together to strengthen democratic accountability and try and break the 5-year cycle of electoral violence and instability,” Gibson said.

Diplomatic Correspondents Association in Bangladesh organised the talks, chaired by its President Mainul Alam. General Secretary Angur Nahar Monty delivered the welcome speech.

The High Commissioner said they were “disappointed” at the level of violence and intimidation in the run up to the elections which, he said, “did so much to damage Bangladesh’s reputation”.

But he was amazed to see the resilience of Bangladesh and the people’s “work ethic”.

“To have coped with so many disruptions last year, yet people still came to work, still the economy increased, and still the presses kept rolling, has been incredible,” he said.

But he said the elections alone do not create a free and democratic society.

“We also need strong institutions, a responsible and accountable government, a free press, the rule of law, equal rights for men and women”.

He said the UK worked together with Bangladesh to try to ensure that the readymade clothing sector continued to flourish.

But he added that it should “flourish in such a way that the two tragedies of Tazreen and Rana Plaza will never happen again”.

“I have said it often and will say it again, the RMG sector is good for Bangladesh: we want it to be a success but not at the expense of human lives”.

He also lauded Bangladesh’s role in UN Peacekeeping operations around the world.

He said the UK and Bangladesh remained “very close” and looked forward to work more closely in future.

But he made it clear that the UK would “not overlook human rights abuses wherever they take place”.

He said a key value of UK’s foreign policy was human rights.

“Our commitments to human rights (as well as aid and development) are part of our national DNA,” he said.

He said a free press was “essential to a flourishing democracy, to innovation and creativity, and to a stable and inclusive society”.

“Actions that undermine or restrict freedom of expression and the media threaten all of those things”.

But he suggested that the media should be professional.

“You should not need to feel brave to do your job, just professional”.