Bangladesh's situation 'close to normal' but there are 'some challenges', says Chief Adviser's aide

Students shout slogans during a protest demanding trial of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka. Pic/AFP

Bangladesh's current situation is "close to normal" but there are "some challenges", a top official said on Wednesday, asserting that free and fair elections will be held after bringing "deeper reforms" in the violence-hit country. During an interaction with the media at the Foreign Service Academy, Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Shafiqul Alam, said the interim government's "first priority is to restore law and order situation".

The top official said that a national security advisor will be appointed soon. The interim government has transferred the heads of all 50 police stations under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. When asked about the current situation in Bangladesh and if it is returning to normalcy, Alam said, "What Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has been saying to foreign journalists, 'you visit all the places like rural areas or cities outside Dhaka or industrial area, You look at situation yourself and judge if it is normal or not'."

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"We think the situation is normal...there are some challenges," he said, adding that all police stations have reopened and they have resumed their duty. "We think, it (situation) is close to normal," Alam added. Asked when the elections would be held, the press secretary said free and fair elections would be held after "deeper reforms" are made in Bangladesh.

Alam said that UK High Commissioner Sarah Cooke and Japanese envoy in Dhaka Iwama Kiminori on Wednesday separately met Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, who sought their support in the 'reconstruction' of Bangladesh. The meeting took place at Jamuna State Guest House, which is currently heavily guarded by security forces.

It was a very "cordial meeting", and both envoys reiterated that their countries stand ready to support Bangladesh and its interim government in building its future, Alam told PTI after his briefing. Economic cooperation came up prominently in the meeting, and Mohammad Yunus told them that the interim government had inherited a "broken country".

The Japanese envoy told the chief advisor that Bangladesh was facing "similar challenges" as what was faced by Japan after World War 2 in rebuilding the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were bombed during the war. The UK envoy conveyed to the chief advisor that her country stands ready to support Bangladesh and work with the interim government. Cooke offered "technical assistance" for the electoral reforms as well, Alam said.

In discussion with both the envoys, "talks of reconciliation" came up that Yunus mentioned, and from the very first day, he has been saying that "we are one family" and there has to be "national harmony", his aide said. Both countries said they will "continue to support Rohingya refugees, Alam said, quoting the envoys.

Bangladesh has been sheltering more than one million Rohingyas, and Yunus has sought "innovative ideas" to help these refugees who live in shelters, he added. The Japanese ambassador also conveyed that a famous architect from Japan "will design a children's library" in Bangladesh, Alam said. After unprecedented anti-government protests that reached a crescendo on August 5, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country, even as protesters had termed the fall of the government and her departure a "day of victory".

She landed in India on August 5 and is currently staying there, even as her over two-week-long presence in India has given rise to multiple speculations. More than 600 people have been killed in the protests in Bangladesh since mid-July against a controversial quota system in government jobs.

Alam also said that Bangladesh plans to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance before August 30. He said the Council of Advisors had discussed the formation of a commission on this issue and that "each and every case of disappearance" will be probed. International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is observed by the UN on August 30.

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