The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday said Bangladesh's Army chief had assured him that there would be no intervention in holding the December 18 parliamentary polls in free and fair manner.

"They will not interfere or intervene in any political process. This is what I was assured from the military leadership," he said while addressing his pre-departure media conference at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the city.

He said the caretaker government also assured him of its best efforts to hold a free, fair and credible election ensuring congenial atmosphere, security and everything in place.

Asked about the UN position on holding the forthcoming parliamentary polls under the state of emergency, the UN Secretary General said he is well aware of the concern and hoped the government and the political parties would resolve the matter through dialogue.

"I am aware of the concerns and demands by the major stakeholders demanding the lifting of the state of emergency. I have discussed this

issue with the Chief Adviser and the political party leaders. I have asked them to resolve the issue through dialogue between the government authorities and the political party leaders, he said.

Ban Ki-moon hoped that the Caretaker Government would create such an atmosphere in the country where people would be able to cast their votes freely without any fear.

"As a matter of principle, we want an atmosphere where people should cast their votes freely without any fear. There should be guarantee of free assembly and free movement which are basic principles to ensure fair elections," he said.

Ban Ki-moon said political parties should play responsible role and accept fair competition based on democratic rules as well as respect the results and extend full cooperation among the parties.

"The December ballot is a historic opportunity. Now is the moment to stand against the polarisation and violence that have characterised past elections," he observed.

He said the UN would send a small team of highly capable and prominent individuals who would visit in the coming weeks to assess the conduct of the election and report to him.

The UN Secretary General said he saw clearly that democracy belongs in Bangladesh; there is no insurmountable obstacle to ushering in a better, brighter, more sustainable democracy after the elections in December.

Asked whether the UN would take any effort to form a tribunal to try '71 war criminals of Bangladesh, he said if Bangladesh government formally requests the UN in this regard, they would examine the matter.

In his written speech, he said the incoming government would need to reach out to the opposition in parliament. The opposition must engage constructively with the new government to consolidate the reforms begun by the current caretaker government- particularly those dedicated to fighting corruption.

Praising Bangladesh's contribution to UN peacekeeping efforts, he said he discussed with the Army Chief how the partnership with the UN could be strengthened particularly in the peacekeeping operations. Ban Ki-moon said expressed desire that Bangladesh can even do more by dispatching more troops and got positive response.

He referred that Bangladesh is the second-largest troop contributing country with more than 9,000 troops and police officers serving the UN peacekeeping missions and said, "Not only you are building your own country, but you are contributing to peace and better lives everywhere you go."

Mentioning his visit to Sirajganj and Bogra to see micro-credit projects, he said he had very good exchanges with women working towards self-employment.

"What I witnessed today will certainly set an example for the rest of the developing world," he said, hopping that this kind of determination will help Bangladesh become a middle-income country in 10 years time.

He said visiting projects also gave him a stronger resolve to work harder towards achieving the UN-designed MDGs and cast enormous potential for positive social change.

The UN secretary general also spoke about adverse impacts of climate change, rising food price and current global financial crisis that threaten world's most vulnerable people--many of them in South Asia.

Earlier, leaders of BNP and the Awami League met the UN Secretary General at his hotel suit separately.

The secretary-general arrived in Bangladesh Saturday on a two day visit. He was scheduled to fly to New York on an Emirates flight Sunday night.