AMBASSADOR PAYS GOODBYE CALL TO OPPOSITION LEADER

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 002842

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/15
TAGS: PREL PGOV BG
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR PAYS GOODBYE CALL TO OPPOSITION LEADER
SHEIKH HASINA


Classified By: P/E Counselor D.C. McCullough, Reason(s): 1.4 (b)


1. (C) On June 16, Ambassador paid a final call to opposition
leader Sheikh Hasina. Also present were MP Alhaj Syed Abul
Hossain, Abdul Jalil, Awami League Secretary General, and
poloff (notetaker). Hasina had three concerns: attacks on
the Awami League (AL),the need for free and fair elections
and her health.


2. (SBU) Hasina commented on the morning papers report that
the BNP government arrested three suspects for the August 21,
2004 explosion by saying that these three people were not
responsible and the arrest was a setup by the government.
With the State Minister for Home Affairs in charge of the
investigation, she had no confidence in an unbiased
investigation. She repeated her charge that the BNP
government is trying to systematically "destroy" the AL and
asked what the US is doing to ensure justice. The Ambassador
explained that we are working quietly with the government in
the Kibria investigation but are not involved in the August
21 case.


3. (C) In response to the question whether she was going to
forge a partnership with the Islamic extremist group IOJ, she
sidestepped, citing the current BNP led four-party coalition
as a marriage of convenience where "they" will do anything
"to get more votes." In response to the question whether the
AL was going to boycott the election, she noted that the AL
victory in the Chittagong mayoral race proved that, with free
and fair elections, the AL will "come back to win."


4. (C) She plans to travel abroad to the UK for a
parliamentary event, and to Moscow at the invitation of the
Russian government, but expects to return by June 30. She
complained of hearing loss from the explosion of August 21,
saying that her inner ear bones were broken. She purchased a
hearing aid that is available regionally, but it only
increases the volume and does not permit her to hear clearly.
Consequently, she plans to travel to the US in July to
purchase a suitable hearing aid.
THOMAS