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Published : 14 Mar 2013, 09:54 AM
“Both the government and the main opposition want talks. Besides the ruling party, the BNP also wants the trial of the war criminals. Answers to all questions regarding war crimes trial will be found once they sit for talks,” the NHRC chief said at a discussion in Dhaka.
“We can make arrangements for the talks if they (two leaders) want that,” the NHRC Chairman said.
Diplomats and business leaders have been calling upon the two top leaders of the country’s largest parties to start a dialogue to resolve the political deadlock over the arrangements for conducting the next parliament elections.
Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam recently said the government was ready to sit with the opposition at any place – in or outside parliament – for talks.
Apparently, in response to the Awami League’s call for talks, senior BNP leaders have said they were interested in talks with the government, but it should focus on the caretaker issue only.
However, BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir doubted the Awami League's sincerity for a dialogue.
Ruling party’s Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif on Wednesday said the BNP should part company with the Jamaat-e-Islami if it wanted to sit for talks to resolve the political deadlock over the future of the country’s electoral system.
The Jamaat has been indulging in countrywide violence over the last one month demanding dissolution of the war crimes tribunal. It also got support from the BNP.
In this regard, NHRC chief Mizanur said that women and children were being used as ‘weapons of violence’ which he described as a recent trend. He appealed to all not to push the women and children into violence.
The NHRC and the Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood jointly organised the discussion with the help of Oxfam and the Centre for Global Change, marking International Women's Day.
