AL joins dialogue with govt on July 3
Friday, 20 June 2008
Awami League will sit for dialogue with the caretaker government on July 3 to discuss issues concerning parliamentary polls slated for December, marking a major breakthrough in a raucous standoff, reports UNB.
The Secretary to the Chief Advisor communicated the date and time for dialogue to acting AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam Thursday.
Earlier, AL had sent names of its 9-member delegation to be led by acting president Zillur Rahman.
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the party presidium at Zillur's house in the evening, Ashraf said AL would hold meetings with its allies in the 14-party combine to forge a common position before sitting with the government.
He said they would complete the meetings with the allies on or before June 30 so they could place a common proposal with the government on behalf of the AL-led combine.
Besides, Ashraf said they would hold parleys with professional groups to elicit their opinion on national issues before the dialogue, the stage for which was set with a prelude after the interim release of party chief and ex-PM Sheikh Hasina, now in the US for treatment.
Asked about meeting with Gano Forum, Ashraf said they have difficulty to sit with the party of Dr Kamal Hossain.
Asked about AL position on announcement of the local-govt election schedule Friday --prior to parliament election they are pressing for--he said the AL working committee would take a formal decision about it.
Asharf disagreed with LGRD Advisor Anwarul Iqbal's remarks that AL did not oppose the local elections during the dialogue with the Election Commission.
He said AL had meetings twice with the Election Commission when they had pressed for national elections prior to local-body polls and complete lifting of the state of emergency to create condition for the parliamentary elections.
Ashraf mentioned US Ambassador Moriarty and EU Ambassador Dr Frowein's remarks about full lifting of the state of emergency and said, "Partial withdrawal of emergency will not serve the purpose."
Asked what they would do if the schedules for local polls were announced Friday, Ashraf said, "Everything is possible in Bangladesh."
He said that AL wanted to join dialogue with the government under Sheikh Hasina's leadership and they did it finally.
Presided over by Zillur Rahman, the presidium meeting was attended by Sajeda Chowdhury, Tofael Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Begum Matia Chowdhury and Syed Ashraful Islam.
The Secretary to the Chief Advisor communicated the date and time for dialogue to acting AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam Thursday.
Earlier, AL had sent names of its 9-member delegation to be led by acting president Zillur Rahman.
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the party presidium at Zillur's house in the evening, Ashraf said AL would hold meetings with its allies in the 14-party combine to forge a common position before sitting with the government.
He said they would complete the meetings with the allies on or before June 30 so they could place a common proposal with the government on behalf of the AL-led combine.
Besides, Ashraf said they would hold parleys with professional groups to elicit their opinion on national issues before the dialogue, the stage for which was set with a prelude after the interim release of party chief and ex-PM Sheikh Hasina, now in the US for treatment.
Asked about meeting with Gano Forum, Ashraf said they have difficulty to sit with the party of Dr Kamal Hossain.
Asked about AL position on announcement of the local-govt election schedule Friday --prior to parliament election they are pressing for--he said the AL working committee would take a formal decision about it.
Asharf disagreed with LGRD Advisor Anwarul Iqbal's remarks that AL did not oppose the local elections during the dialogue with the Election Commission.
He said AL had meetings twice with the Election Commission when they had pressed for national elections prior to local-body polls and complete lifting of the state of emergency to create condition for the parliamentary elections.
Ashraf mentioned US Ambassador Moriarty and EU Ambassador Dr Frowein's remarks about full lifting of the state of emergency and said, "Partial withdrawal of emergency will not serve the purpose."
Asked what they would do if the schedules for local polls were announced Friday, Ashraf said, "Everything is possible in Bangladesh."
He said that AL wanted to join dialogue with the government under Sheikh Hasina's leadership and they did it finally.
Presided over by Zillur Rahman, the presidium meeting was attended by Sajeda Chowdhury, Tofael Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Begum Matia Chowdhury and Syed Ashraful Islam.