AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL ON AWAMI LEAGUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 002503 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2011 TAGS: PREL PGOV BG SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL ON AWAMI LEAGUE PRESIDENT HASINA Classified By: A/DCM D.C. McCullough, reason para 1.5 D. ¶1. (C) Summary. Hasina stated she "wants" to participate in elections but major changes are necessary to ensure a free and fair process. She credited foreign pressure for the capture of JMB leaders, and reiterated her view that the most senior levels of the BNP were behind the 2004 grenade attack on her. Her political secretary expressed concern that Islamists and others will be "activated" to attack Hasina and the AL during the election campaign. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On April 28, Ambassador paid a one-hour courtesy call on Awami League president Sheikh Hasina. AL Secretary General Abdul Jalil, Political Secretary Saber Hussain Chowdhury, two other AL officials, and P/E counselor (notetaker) were also present. ¶3. (SBU) Ambassador apologized to Hasina for having had to postpone their meeting from the evening before after bad weather forced a delay in the Ambassador's return from Chittagong, where she had accompanied retired American General Hank Stackpole on a visit commemorating the 15th anniversary of Operation Sea Angel. Hasina confirmed that Stackpole is still fondly remembered by Bangladeshis, and commented that the BNP government in 1991 had denied the true scale of the cyclone disaster until the AL began delivering relief supplies to the affected areas. "They still don't know how to govern," she added. ¶4. (C) Turning to elections, the Ambassador reiterated that the USG wants a successful and democratic process, but it does not, contrary to some local speculation, support the BNP's re-election, or any other party for that matter. "That's my personal assurance to you," the Ambassador said. Elections should be free and fair, Hasina replied and then reviewed the origins of election rigging during the military rule of Generals Zia and Ershad. She positively contrasted her government's performance on economic and other fronts to the current BNP administration's record of price hikes, power shortages, and corruption. She asserted her party remains true to its roots as servants of the people, and disdains the politics of "black money" and "muscle men." "We don't nurse these bad elements," she stated. Referring to the BNP, she charged, "They just want to stay in power to enjoy their illegal money." ¶5. (C) Asked if she would participate in the next election, Hasina replied: "We want to participate." She then made her case for reconstituting the Electoral Commission as a "truly neutral body" and her other demands for caretaker government and electoral changes. The Ambassador congratulated Hasina for challenging BNP to match AL's commitment to make financial disclosure statements for its parliamentary candidates, and suggested that this could be part of an enhanced electoral code of conduct. Hasina had no substantive response. ¶6. (C) Hasina asserted that the BDG had arrested Bangla Bhai and Abdur Rahman only in response to U.S. and other international pressure. Ambassador interjected that there appeared to be significant local political pressure as well. All seven members of JMB's senior leadership council, Hasina resumed, had links to Jamaat Islami's notorious student wing, Chhatra Shibir. She dismissed JI as a "terrorist party," and while JI and the AL had previously sat together in opposition to the BNP, she stoutly denied the parties had ever had any kind of partnership or understanding. She alleged that, as part of JI's infiltration of the police, civil service, and the military, madrassah alumni now constitute 35 percent of army troops. Political Secretary Chowdhury insisted the figure for new officers is even higher. ¶7. (C) The Ambassador assured Hasina that the USG continues to press the BDG to prevent and solve crimes of political violence, including the 2004 attack on her and her leadership at a Dhaka rally and also the assassination of Shah Kibria. Hasina and Saber Chowdhury repeated their view that the 2004 grenade attack involved elements of JI and the Prime Minister's son, Tarique Rahman. "It is hard for us to believe that the prime minister herself did not have knowledge of this attack and the cover-up," Saber asserted. He expressed concern about the likelihood of new attacks on Hasina and the AL as the election approaches, and feared that Islamists and members of the Rapid Action Battalion will be "activated" to attack them once the campaign starts. "Only God will give me security," Hasina said. ¶8. (C) Comment: While it is easy to discount many of Hasina's statements as self-serving or flat out wrong, concerns about her safety are much harder to dismiss. CHAMMAS