Canada calls for dialogue

Canada wants dialogue between the ruling Awami League and the BNP to determine the framework for the next election, said Heather Cruden, Canadian high commissioner to Bangladesh.

"We call for dialogue, and hope the two parties would hold dialogue not only for the elections, but for the framework for the next elections," said the diplomat at a meet the press programme organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday.

Regarding the upcoming movement by the BNP, she said, "We want to see shift in political culture … in democracy there must be scope for dissents, but that must be peaceful, not violent."

Terming the violence ahead of the elections last year as "distressingly regular part of life", she said the minorities, in particular the Hindus, bore the brunt of many of these attacks.

"The measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable," Cruden said, adding that many individuals from religious minorities sadly remain unprotected and continue to fear for their lives.

She said the January 5 election was constitutional, but Canada was disappointed that more than half of the parliamentary seats were not contested freely.

However, she said, the elections had brought relief by putting an end to the violence.

"We all hope the violence will not be starting again," she said, adding that the five-year cycle of electoral violence and instability should be broken.

The diplomat mentioned that democracy requires strong independent institutions, space for media and civil society to be able to constructively criticise the government and hold it to account.

Asked on the government's new broadcast policy and some politicians' objectionable remarks in recent days, Cruden said, "We will continue to closely monitor it."

On trade issues, she said Canada wants to help Bangladesh prosper, especially through training human resources and developing the readymade garment (RMG) sector and that the Canadian companies are now trying to help ensure safety at garment factories in the country.

"Let me be clear: there is no alternative. After Rana Plaza, Canadian consumers will not tolerate clothes made under dangerous conditions," Cruden said.

If Bangladesh's garment sector continues to improve working and safety conditions, it could thrive, otherwise it would wither, she told journalists adding that Canada does not want to see the RMG sector in Bangladesh flourishing "at the expense of workers' lives".

The annual trade between the two countries stands at $ 1.8 billion, said the diplomat.

Regarding Canada's stance on Israeli attacks on Palestine, she said Israel has the right to self-defence and that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. She, however, did not elaborate on the issue.

DCAB president Mainul Alam and general secretary Angur Nahar Monty also spoke at the programme.