The US and European Union countries will not send observers to monitor the proposed elections, which according to them, will not be 'credible and inclusive'. Their stand follows the announcement of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies to boycott the polls.

The BNP and its allies want the polls to be held under the auspices of a non-party caretaker administration, preceded by the stepping down of ruling Awami League (AL) ministers and the Sheikh Hasina-led government. On the other hand, the AL insists that polling would be held under an all-party interim cabinet. Several rounds of talks have failed to produce any agreement or compromise. Even three rounds of talks held under UN initiative could not resolve the deadlock.

The opposition, while staying away from the polling process, has organised over 22 days of an economically crippling blockade, accompanied by violent agitations involving huge loss of life and property. Over 100 people have been killed. Meanwhile, 154 AL members have been declared elected unopposed, as the Government refused to back down and call off the election process.

The BNP refuses to accept the legality of the electioneering that has been done so far, with its supreme leader Khaleda Zia calling it as a “farcical, shameless selection, not election'. Prime Minister Hasina points out that the government had never interfered with the elections at any level during its five-year tenure. What reinforces her claim is that just prior to the National polls, the opposition parties had trounced the ruling party in the crucial civic elections.

Observers do not see anything unusual in the US implicitly supporting the stand taken by the BNP in its decision not to send observers for the January 5 polls. The support of the EU to fall in line with the US is more surprising. Over the years, the US has never exactly felt comfortable with the nationalist AL, both during the critical struggle of Bangladesh for freedom in 1970-71 and the years following. As its diplomats admitted before the national polls this year, the US 'got along better' with the pro-Pakistan BNP which had the fundamentalist Jamat-E-Islami as its political ally. The Jamat had actively opposed the struggle for Bengali independence from Pakistan, something the US was also opposing.

Ever since assuming power in 2008, the AL had made it clear that it would renew its ongoing struggle against Islamic fundamentalism, not sparing those who had actively opposed the freedom struggle. Two Tribunals were set up to put on trial those accused of 'war crimes' in 1970-71, during the Pak -sponsored pogroms against secular intellectuals, academics, political leaders and the minorities. Only days ago, the first of the 10 people indicted for their crimes, Abdul Qader Mollah, alias the 'Butcher of Mirpur' had been hanged after his arrest and trial. He was responsible for the murder of over 300 people and his other crimes included several rapes.

The BNP made a political issue of this and launched violent, destructive protests. Significantly, US policymakers and leaders of Arab countries also requested to the Bangladesh Government not to proceed against Mollah. Earlier too leaders ranging from Turkey to Saudi Arabia and Qatar had appealed to Hasina to' go easy' on Islamic fundamentalists.

Hasina stood her ground and insisted that as a sovereign country Bangladesh was free to take its own decisions in all such matters. Of the remaining nine criminals, two belong to the BNP and the rest, to Jamat, which stands banned as a political party in Bangladesh. The US again, views the Jamat as a 'moderate' force.

No wonder BNP leaders have thanked the US Secretary of State John Kerry and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for their diplomatic efforts to save Mollah. His hanging was a 'political murder.', according to the BNP. Pakistan parliament in a recent resolution condemned his hanging, describing Mollah as an 'innocent' person who had paid for his loyalty to Pakistan, sparking off sharp protests among Bangladeshis in the US and other countries.

The US and EU countries apart, Bangladesh has managed to win a measure of support from the Organisation of Islamic Countries(OIC), whose representatives of attended official briefings on the latest situation in Dhaka. Diplomats from China, Russia, Australia, Japan, Canada, Korea, Brazil, Norway, Iran, some Arab states, Malaysia and Indonesia, were also present. The BD foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmoud Ali and other officials addressed them.

Bangladesh authorities were pleased with the response from the OIC reps who assured them that at this critically sensitive juncture for the country, they would certainly stand by Dhaka.

Meanwhile US Ambassador Dan Mozena, feeling that the situation was getting out of hand, has called for more talks immediately to ensure a compromise between the BNP and the AL, to make the polls more meaningful. He also called upon the opposition to use its space more responsibly and avoid all violence.

Zia’s latest message to the people, whether by coincidence or otherwise, almost echoes Mozena’s appeal. Instead of sound aggressive or handing out threats as usual, she called for a compromise and talks. At the same time, she announced a March to Dhaka on January 29, which could trigger a fresh outburst of violence, repeating her call to people to stay away from the polls on Jan 5. Her announcements came amidst Dhaka-based reports speculating that the BNP decision to avoid the polls had not gone down well with the common people or with the international community, which had weakened the position of the BNP and its allies.(IPA Service)