EU for dialogue among political parties to ensure fair polls

17 August 2011, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

William Hanna, ambassador and head of delegation of the EU in Dhaka, speaks at a dialogue at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the city yesterday.Photo: STAR

The European Union (EU) yesterday lauded the economic progress of Bangladesh and expected dialogue among the political parties for a free and fair election to ensure democracy, human rights and development. "A lot of good things are happening in Bangladesh at the economic side. The growth of export is doubling," said William Hanna, ambassador and head of delegation of the EU in Dhaka. Over the last five years the poverty has declined from 40 percent to 31.5 percent and there has been good improvement in health sector, he said at a dialogue organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents' Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the city. "The development is working, the commerce is working and we have to make sure that we keep supporting dialogue and democracy," Hanna said, adding that the people of the country that will decide how things will run, but as a development partner, the EU will continue support to the process of peace and development, which is also the common agenda in the EU countries. He has not made any observation of the present political situation where the main opposition is not attending the parliament, but hoped that all parties will have dialogue for democracy. Asked if the Election Commission (EC) under a political government can hold a free and fair election, William Hanna said the EU successfully operated the project of making national ID card, which was considered a model for other countries. William Hanna said they will provide funds to the EC that prepares all aspects of election and hoped that all the parties would work together towards free, fair and inclusive elections. He has not made comment on the issues of extrajudicial killings through crossfire, but said, "Human rights is at the heart of what we are doing in our cooperation." Justice and rule of law must be ensured in any activity, he said. The EU has been working with a number of NGOs to uphold human rights, Hanna noted. The EU ambassador said they are not much concerned about the debate on the indigenous people or ethnic minorities, but on implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord. He said 24 million Euro is in the pipeline to help continue the peace building process in the CHT where development of infrastructure, education and creating basic facilities are imperative.