Two leaders have to sit for talks

Commerce and Education Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman yesterday pinned hopes on patience and pressure to make the chiefs of Awami League and BNP -- Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia -- sit together for a discussion.
Menwhile, Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, who defends both former prime ministers in court, yesterday said he is ready to mediate the desired talk between the two top political leaders, responding to a request from the military backed caretaker government.
On September 14, two government advisers --- Hossain Zillur Rahman and AF Hassan Ariff --- phoned the veteran lawyer and requested him to take an initiative to bring Khaleda and Hasina to a discussion table, according to news reports.
The lawyer who is now in Singapore told private television channel Bangla Vision last night that after returning home he will communicate with the two leaders in an effort to bring them to a table.
"We should not be deterred easily. We succeeded in getting results earlier by showing patience, and we'll have to be patient and create pressure [on them] this time around too," Hossain Zillur said yesterday.
"At this stage, we'll have to be firm on being patient, putting pressure, and sticking to our goal," he was quoted as saying by different private television channels.
He was talking to reporters after a meeting in Chittagong Circuit House, reviewing the progress in implementing the decisions taken in the advisory council meeting held there on August 13.
Asked about the possible nature of the much sought meeting between the two chief politicos, the commerce adviser said it should meet public expectations.
He was hopeful about succeeding in arranging the parley and about its outcome.
But for the initiative to be successful, political leaders should speak more responsibly, Hossain Zillur quipped.
"Let me make one thing clear, it is not the only initiative by the government," said the adviser adding that they have been manoeuvring step by step.
Replying to a query regarding what will happen if the initiative fails, the adviser said there is no reason to think that all initiatives will fail.
Asked about the long history of Awami League and BNP being archrivals, Hossain Zillur said, "Don't be impatient, be patient for a qualitative change in politics."
Major political parties are expected to show tolerance shunning the practice of mudslinging in the interest of democracy and the nation, the adviser noted.
Since 1/11 a great change came in the mentality of the people, who hardly like mudslinging, he observed.
He called upon political parties to shun mudslinging and quarrel, and to contribute towards holding free and fair polls.
MIXED REACTION AMONG PARTIES
In the meantime, a number of political leaders expressed mixed reaction to the government's attempt to bring the two top leaders of the country in a dialogue with each other, reports our staff correspondent in Dhaka.
Awami League (AL) Acting President Zillur Rahman yesterday questioned the caretaker government's motive behind the attempt.
"I cannot find any reason for this. We do not understand why Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia will sit together," said Zillur while talking to reporters after a meeting with Phulbaria Municipality Mayor Golam Kibria in his Gulshan residence.
Gono Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain also raised questions yesterday about the 'understanding process' between the caretaker government and the two top political leaders.
"What is going on? People want to know about the backdoor dealings between the government and the two leaders," Kamal told reporters after a meeting of his party's standing committee in his Bailey Road home in the capital.
BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mahbub Uddin Ahmed said the success of the dialogue between Khaleda and Hasina depends on their goodwill and how they come forward.
"Our leader [Khaleda] wants the talk. There will be no lack of positive attitude from our leader," he told The Daily Star.
Jatiya Party Acting Chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud said the two leaders should sit together as people always expect them to do so.
But the initiative should come from political parties, he said responding to a query about Hossain Zillur Rahman's comment.
He told The Daily Star that a political consensus is also required among all political parties.
Mahmud expressed his astonishment over the government's initiative to bring the two leaders to a discussion table since 'they had tried very hard to exclude them from politics'.
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said the two chiefs had sat together earlier during the movement against the Ershad regime between 1986 and 1990.
Talking to The Daily Star he said the two leaders could sit together for the greater interest of the country.
"But I don't think all problems of the country will be solved, even if the two leaders sit together for a discussion. It will be too much to expect," he said.
If the government thinks that it will bring the two ladies to a discussion table in order to implement their own agenda, its members are living in a fool's paradise, he asserted.
Addressing a discussion AL Presidium Member Amir Hossain Amu demanded permanent release of Hasina before she sits with Khaleda.
Tungipara Association in Dhaka organised the discussion at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium demanding permanent release of Sheikh Hasina.
Another AL Presidium Member Abdur Razzak said BNP must make its position clear about militancy, anti-liberation war forces, war criminals and fundamentalist forces.
AL Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed said, "It's not easy to sit with those [BNP] who want to kill Hasina."
AL Presidium Member Suranjit Sengupta said talks were held between the two leaders before and those failed to produce solutions.
Talks should be held at the party level instead of between the two leaders, he added.