FBCCI vows to continue efforts

Calling the Businessmen's Conference a successful event, FBCCI says it will continue its efforts to make politicians change their ways.

At a board meeting yesterday, the FBCCI executive members discussed their next course of action and decided to involve professional groups and other political parties.

Meeting sources said Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad had already agreed to hold talks with business leaders while Gono Forum president Dr Kamal Hossain and General Secretary of Bangladesh Workers Party Rashed Khan Menon had contacted FBCCI president Abdul Awal Mintoo and expressed their willingness to be part of the process.

FBCCI will hold meetings with various professional groups from February 8 to 17 to drum up support for their move.

FBCCI leaders will start meeting members of other major chambers by early February.

The meeting also decided to circulate the texts of speeches of both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition with a view to formulating a proposal for them.

"Both the parties hold similar views regarding hartal. Both (leaders) said that hartal was destructive for the country," an EC member was quoted to have told the meeting.

"They only differed on issues of governance which is natural in any democracy," the EC member said.