The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The United States will dispatch 120 observers on a long-term mission to monitor the December 18 parliamentary elections in Bangladesh and first batch will be here in the first week of November to look over the run-up to the crucial polls.

Talking to reporters after meeting with Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, US Ambassador James Moriarty renewed his hope that the conditions were going to be in place for holding free, fair and credible elections.

Asked whether the state of emergency would make any difference in decision-making about sending the election observers, the Ambassador said, "No, no. we've made the commitment. We think we need to get the people out here and that's going to happen. They are going to be on their way."

Asked whether the US has changed its position on the elections under emergency or without emergency, Moriarty laughed out, and then said Bangladeshis should determine how the elections could be free and fair.

He noted half a million Bangladeshi people live in the United States and half of them support BNP and another half Awami League. It is important that they should be assured that the elections are going to be credible.

The Ambassador and the Foreign Adviser of the caretaker government also discussed the upcoming presidential elections in the USA. Again with laugh, he said the Foreign Adviser hoped that the elections in America would be free and fair.

Iftekhar told him that the people in Bangladesh have a deep interest in the US elections and are following it very closely.

The Adviser assured him that Bangladesh would look forward to working closely together no matter whichever gentleman becomes elected President.

The current global financial turmoil also came up for discussion, and they hoped that the current difficulties in the financial world would not have long-term impacts on the Bangladesh-US trade relations.

Later, Iftekhar told reporters that the Bangladesh-US strategic relations would continue whoever is elected as US President.

He said the people of Bangladesh are anxiously waiting to see the results of the US elections, which is important for the world as well as the Bangladesh-US ties.

Iftekhar noted with satisfaction that Bangladesh this year exported garments worth $ 3.27 billion to the USA and hoped that the US Congress would enact such a law as allows free access of Bangladeshi products to the American market.

Asked whether the Ambassador raised the issue of the state of emergency, the Adviser said they had time and again stated that it is an internal matter of Bangladesh and the Bangladeshis would have to figure it out and that they know it very well.

"After all, we are moving towards the election nicely. If there could be nice election in America, why not in Bangladesh," Iftekhar said, mentioning the Chief Adviser's commitment that any impediments on the way of free and fair elections would be removed.

On the question of a persistent plea of the USA for recognizing Kosovo as a state in the strife-torn Balkans, he said Bangladesh would take the decision keeping well in mind country's specific national interests.