UNB, Dhaka :
British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Gibson on Thursday said all political parties in Bangladesh must work together to strengthen democratic accountability, and laid emphasis on taking ‘confidence-building measures’ before going for a future election.
“The imperative now is for all parties to work together…try and break the five-year cycle of electoral violence and instability,” he said during his interactions with diplomatic correspondents at the Jatiya Press Club.
Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) arranged the event – Dcab Talk – with its President Mainul Alam in the chair. DCAB General Secretary Angur Nahar Monty was also present.
The British diplomat encouraged all to start confidence-building measures before the new election takes place so that most people in Bangladesh have a chance to exercise their democratic rights.
Gibson reiterated that they were disappointed as so many people did not have the opportunity to participate in January-5 elections but they are not disappointed about Bangladesh’s future. “Bangladesh has a great future.”
Asked about UK’s relations with the present government, he said, “The relation between UK and Bangladesh remains very close…we’ve to look ahead.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, Gibson said they value human rights and every one suffers where human rights abuses go unchecked. “We’ll never turn a blind eye to countries which display the trappings of democracy while violating basic human rights.”
Sought his comment on human rights situation, he said when human rights is abused it is essential for government to quickly and transparently investigate those cases to make sure that such abuses do not happen again. “We’ll not overlook human rights abuses wherever they take place.”
Asked whether the Bangladesh Prime Minister will be invited soon to visit UK, he said, “No, not at this moment. May be (in future), but not at this moment.”
The British diplomat expressed satisfaction over the progress made in readymade garment industry. “We’ve worked together and try to ensure that the RMG sector continues to flourish.”
He said, it will have to be ensured that two tragedies of Tazreen and Rana plaza will never happen again. “RMG sector is good for Bangladesh. We want it to be a success but not at the expense of human lives.”
