CARETAKER ADVISERS REPORTEDLY RESCIND RESIGNATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 006767

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

REL GBR, CAN, AUS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2016
TAGS: KDEM PHUM PGOV BG
SUBJECT: CARETAKER ADVISERS REPORTEDLY RESCIND RESIGNATIONS
AS OPPOSITION DEMANDS EXIT OF CHIEF ADVISER

REF: DHAKA 6763

Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Butenis, reason para 1.4 d.


1. (C) Summary. Chief Adviser Ahmed has reportedly persuaded
at least three of the four advisers who tendered their
resignations today to step back and join other advisors in a
meeting with Ahmed to discuss their concerns about his
performance. In response to press reports of the
resignations, a conclave of Awami League leaders is
considering a proposal for a new program to demand Ahmed's
immediate exit as chief adviser. End Summary.

Resignations
--------------


2. (SBU) On December 11, local media reported that the four
Caretaker Government advisors who tried to broker a
compromise election package had submitted letters of
resignation. They had previously threatened resignation to
protest Chief Adviser Ahmed's actions, and had publicly
criticized Ahmed's decision Saturday night to deploy the ARMY
to "aid civil administration."


3. (C) At 1500 local, a confidant of Ahmed's told us that
other advisers acting on Ahmed's behalf had located and
persuaded three of the advisers -- Akbar Ali Khan, C.M. Shafi
Sami, and General (R) Hasan Mashood Chowdhury -- to withdraw
their resignations, and were still looking for the fourth --
Sultana Kamal -- to urge her to do the same. At least eight
of the ten advisers, he said, have agreed to meet with Ahmed
at 1600 today to discuss their concerns about his unilateral
decision-making style.

Awami League Calls for Ahmed To Resign
--------------


4. (SBU) On December 10, Awami League president Sheikh Hasina
called for the immediate resignation of Ahmed as Chief
Adviser, saying his unwarranted order to deploy the ARMY and
his alleged repudiation of a compromise election package had
proven his complicity in a design by the former ruling party
to steal the upcoming election.


5. (C) At 1530 local, Awami League presidium member Kazi
Zafarullah confirmed to the Ambassador reports the Awami
League is meeting this afternoon to consider a one-point
program demanding Ahmed's resignation. The Ambassador noted
our understanding that at least three of the advisers have
rescinded their resignations, and that calling for Ahmed's
resignation would be seen as impractical and a possible
trigger for violence. Zafarullah undertook to convey those
points to Hasina, and said he would counsel delay to see what
Ahmed does next with his advisers.

Zia: No More Talks
--------------


6. (C) Late December 10, Bangladesh Nationalist Party
chairperson Khaleda Zia told the Ambassador and British High
Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury there is no point in further
talks with the Awami League because of its constantly
changing demands and its determination to create problems,
like with the voter list, where none exists. Her party
activists are working well with Election Commission officials
to update the voter list, but they view concessions as a sign
of weakness, and the time for further concessions has passed,
she said.


7. (C) Referring to the aborted compromise election package,
Zia denied that her party had ever agreed to the departure of
controversial Election Commissioner Zakaria. She also
insisted that the 309 local administrative officials the
Awami League wants replaced were hired prior to her
administration and are therefore not "her" people.


8. (C) The Ambassador urged Zia to be flexible to prevent the
electoral process from unraveling over two relatively
technical points. In response, Zia recalled alleged Awami
League perfidy when it was in power, and repeated the view
that in the end the Awami League will join, not boycott, the
election. She added that people welcomed ARMY deployment as
stabilizing


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Military Deployment
--------------


9. (SBU) The ARMY and other security forces have deployed to
key locations throughout Bangladesh. In Dhaka, they are
clustered at 23 strategic choke-points and have set up camps
near major government installations downtown and in a nearby
cricket stadium. Checkpoints are stopping vehicles to search
for weapons, but traffic and daily life are otherwise at
normal levels.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) Prospects for political compromise appear bleak, in
part because the sole point of agreement between Zia and
Hasina (reftel) is their stated aversion to new dialogue.
BNP smugness that the Awami League is blustering and will
join the election infuriates Awami League leaders and
emboldens hard-liners to prove BNP wrong. A determined
opposition drive for Ahmed's departure would significantly
raise tension and the risk of new violence.
BUTENIS