Turkish ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan on Wednesday said that the ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party should sit together to resolve political issues ahead of the next general election.
‘In Bangladesh, there is obviously a room for dialogue. Unfortunately, that has not taken place yet,’ the envoy said while addressing an event titled ‘Meet the Ambassador’ at a city hotel on the day.
Mustafa said that Turkey believed the election was an internal matter of Bangladesh and it was the responsibility of the country, not the foreigners, to take decision on its elections.
‘It is up to Bangladesh to decide whether the elections will be free and fair, not the foreigners,’ he said.
According to the diplomat, the main responsibility lies with the government and it is also the responsibility of the opposition in a democracy.
The Centre for Governance Studies with the support of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Bangladesh organised the event moderated by CGS executive director Zillur Rahman.
Political activists, academics, civil society members and journalists attended the event among others.
Referring to election-related comments made by the Awami League and BNP leaders at the event, the Turkish ambassador said that political parties needed to sit down and talk to each other to address their differences as the government alone could not solve all these issues.
He expressed hope that both the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP would join the next polls to be held in December 2023 or January 2024.
Asked whether the election — be it held in a free and fair manner or not — really matters when it comes to relation between the two countries, Mustafa said that ties between Bangladesh and Turkey were based on trust, and they were always with the people of Bangladesh in their good and bad times no matter which party won the election.
He said that political stability was needed for growth and that stability existed in Bangladesh although there were issues regarding freedom of expression and criticisms against the Digital Security Act 2018.
Responding to a question on Rohingya crisis, the ambassador said that it was an important issue for Bangladesh.
‘We want to see Rohingya issue high on agenda of the international community,’ he added.
He stressed that alongside security cooperation, defence cooperation between the two countries had also increased.
News Courtesy:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/186560/turkey-wants-dialogue-to-resolve-political-issues