Hasina to sit with Khaleda anytime, anywhere

Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina agreed to sit with her political archrival BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia "anytime, anywhere" for the greater interest of the country if BNP admits to its wrongdoings during its last tenure in power.

In an email addressed to the nation and sent to the email account of a senior AL leader, she said her stance on the proposed talks between herself and Khaleda needed to be clarified. She said, "As discussions have been going on about a meeting between Khaleda Zia and me, I think my stance in this regard should be revealed to the people."

"Under the circumstances, I want to firmly say that I have no objection to any dialogue held in the greater interest of the country. I am ready to sit with anyone anywhere. But a dialogue without a specific issue or objective has the potential to create fresh problems or crises in the country," sources said quoting her as saying in the email.

AL, however, did not make public the email received a few days ago. Only a few senior AL leaders knew about the email. Surprisingly, a number of senior AL leaders including Presidium member Amir Hossain Amu termed the letter a rumour.

A senior AL Presidium member, having close ties to the party chief, read the email to The Daily Star.

AL Presidium member Suranjit Sengupta confirmed reporters about the email and said the AL chief does not think that bringing the two leaders to a single table would be easy.

Hasina said she does not want to be involved in a process that misleads people. She neither wants to be in a dialogue which is not meant for the country's welfare.

"My apprehension is that the dialogue has been proposed so that the blame for one's [Khaleda's] failures could be equally shared by two leaders. The dialogue may attempt to weigh a successful, competent and pro-people government with a dishonest, corrupt and incompetent one [BNP-Jamaat alliance government] on the same scale," she said.

She said she believes that a cordial relationship could be achieved if Khaleda retreats from the path of mistakes and ousts from her party the people who were involved in killing AL men.

Hasina claimed that BNP, assuming power in 2001, tortured and repressed hundreds of AL leaders. She claimed BNP men killed many including Shah AMS Kibria and Ahsanullah Master. She blamed BNP for the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an AL rally on Bangabandhu Avenue, which was also an attempt on her life.

"If BNP does not rectify itself, I will have to exchange courtesy at the dialogue with those who killed Kibria, Ahsanullah Master and Ivy Rahman and tried to kill me," the AL president said expressing doubt about how cordial the dialogue would be.

"It has been indicated in the proposal for the dialogue that there is something that can be solved through talks between the two leaders, but I could not find any such thing," she said.

She said high price of essentials and stagnation in foreign investment are the main problems of the country and the government would have to act accordingly to solve the crises. She said a free, fair and credible election is necessary in the country as soon as possible.

It would not be right to shift the blame on two leaders or two parties, she said, adding, "The disorder created by the Anti-Corruption Commission has to be considered."

About her personal relationship with the Zia family, she said she served Tarique Rahman fried fish with her own hands when he came to her home to invite her to his wedding.

The AL chief said she did not get involved in politics for power. "When I assumed power in 1996, I urged BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to work together. Had she [Khaleda] responded to that call, we could have had an episode where the country is run based on consensus between the ruling and opposition parties."