UN hopes for free, fair polls

United Nations secretary general's office has expressed its hope that “a climate could be created where free and fair elections could take place” in Bangladesh.

Talking to reporters, Stéphane Dujarric, a UNSG spokesperson, yesterday said, “We've expressed our concern… This is our principal position.”

He said these when asked whether the UNSG had taken any action to release BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail.

Khaleda was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case by a special court in Dhaka on February 8. She was sentenced to five years' in prison.

The BNP has been demonstrating for her release.

Asked about Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar, the UN chief's spokesperson said, “Any return needs to be voluntary and should not be forced.

“They should not go back to camps.  They need to go back to their homes, the homes that they were forced to leave.  So, there are all sorts of conditions that the High Commissioner for Refugees feel have not been met,” he was quoted in the detailed text of a press briefing published on the UN website yesterday.

With the process of Rohingya repatriation caught in a limbo, Bangladesh handed Myanmar a list of 8,032 refugees from 1,673 families, who are likely to be the first batch to return to their homeland.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingyas have crossed over into Bangladesh since a military offensive began in response to an insurgent attack on August 25 last year. More than 300,000 others, who crossed over from Myanmar in the previous years, are also staying in Bangladesh.