The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Awami League (AL) leaders during the informal talks with the government yesterday put forward five-point demands including immediate release of party chief Sheikh Hasina and withdrawal of state of emergency and holding trials of the war criminals.

The AL leaders also asked the government to announce a date for parliamentary polls and control the price of essential commodities, which is imperative to create congenial atmosphere for holding the stalled parliamentary polls.

Emerging from the meeting held at state guesthouse Meghna, AL Acting Secretary General Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters that the Government side assured them of fulfilling the logical demands after discussing the matter with the Chief Adviser.

"We told the advisers that release of Sheikh Hasina is essential to create congenial atmosphere to hold the elections and the Advisers also accepted our logic behind our demands," he said.

He termed the meeting fruitful saying that they hope that the proposed dialogue with political party will also be successful and create an example in the history of dialogues.

The AL leader said they requested the advisers that the Chief Adviser would have to join the formal dialogue and it has to be completed by the end of May 2008.

Ashraful Islam, who was included in the seven-member AL delegation, said the formal dialogue would have to be bilateral.

"We told the advisers that the formal dialogue must be bilateral as well. The Chief Adviser must be present at the dialogue. None other than the caretaker government advisers can be present at the formal talks," he said adding that the government could hold separate meetings with the civil society groups, if necessary.

"Although the judiciary already has been separated from the executive, but the court is not yet independent. We want independence of the judiciary," Ashraf said.

He said they also demanded release of their detained leaders.

Meanwhile, Adviser for Commerce and Education Hossain Zillur Rahman told reporters that confidence building and creating national consensus were the main points of the talk at the pre-dialogue.

"We want to build confidence among all, so that we can present a meaningful, credible and fruitful election before the countrymen by December 31, 2008," he said.

The Adviser said transition to qualitative political culture is essential for a meaningful election.

The pre-dialogue informal meeting, scheduled to be held at the state guesthouse Padma, was shifted to another state guesthouse Meghna at 5:30pm and continued till 7:20pm.

Awami League presidium members Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury led the team. Other members of the AL team are Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Motia Chowdhury and Ashraful Islam.

The government representatives were Law Adviser AF Hassan Ariff, Communications Adviser Ghulam Quader, Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal and Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman.

Earlier, the Adviser for Commerce and Education on Saturday invited the Acting AL chief Zillur Rahman through sms over cell phone.