DHAKA, 4 June 2008 — Bangladesh’s leading businessmen yesterday demanded in talks with interim Cabinet members that the country return to democracy through elections.
But they said they were worried about the current stalemate after major political parties decided to boycott the talks, putting a question mark on dialogue. “We are not happy with the situation at all, as some will join the dialogue and some won’t,” the president of the country’s main trade body Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Annisul Huq, said.
Huq, who led 300 business representatives to the dialogue at the chief adviser’s office, told reporters: “We have sat with the government for the sake of the economy. The country should go back to democracy and it should happen through elections.”
Two major political parties — the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party — have said they will join talks with their leaders behind bars. The businessmen are worried. They fear an unstable situation, Huq said. “We have said we need to get out of this. The elections should be held by the government-declared deadline, and that should be held through participation of all political parties.”
Huq said businessmen want politicians to rule the country but it does not mean the country should go back to the old days of confrontation.
The businessmen demanded a specific date for the elections. “The chief adviser has assured us that the polls will be held by Dec. 31,” Huq said.
Replying to a question, Huq said they did not discuss the release of the two leaders — Awami League’s Hasina Wajed and BNP’s Khaleda Zia — at the meeting.
Huq said the federation suggested several measures to clean up politics. Major recommendations included enactment of laws that will bar a person from contesting elections more than twice, provisions for revealing sources of fund of political parties and banning student politics that kowtows to mainstream political parties.
