HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER EXPRESSES DISMAY WITH POLITICAL SITUATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001165

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PTERR KDEM BG
SUBJECT: HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER EXPRESSES DISMAY WITH
POLITICAL SITUATION

REF: DHAKA 1158

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Home Affairs Adviser Gen. M.A. Matin in a meeting with
the Ambassador on November 6 expressed dismay with the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for making continuous new
demands for participating in Parliamentary elections
scheduled for next month. They discussed strategies for
enticing the BNP to take part in the campaign. The Ambassador
also asked Matin and Home Affairs Secretary Mohammad Abdul
Karim to push forward Embassy proposals for sports diplomacy
events to support community policing and for an anti-violence
and improvised explosive device (IED) awareness campaign.
Matin and Karim raised concerns about the awareness campaign,
but signaled it could go ahead if supported by the elite law
enforcement Rapid Action Battalion and the military's
Directorate General Forces Intelligence.

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MATIN EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION WITH THE BNP
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2. (C) The meeting between the Ambassador and Home Affairs
Adviser Matin came the day of Awami League President Sheikh
Hasina's triumphal return to Bangladesh after more than four
months abroad on medical parole. (Note: Sheikh Hasina and her
arch-foe, Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairwoman Khaleda
Zia, both face multiple charges of graft. Both are out of
jail, however, and appear eligible to run in the
Parliamentary elections set for December 18 by the Caretaker
Government. End note.) Matin estimated nearly 300,000 people
had come out to cheer her return.


3. (C) Despite the hullabaloo over Hasina's return, Matin
appeared preoccupied by the BNP's recent negotiations with
his colleagues in the Caretaker Government. He said Zia was
continuously making new demands and changing agreements
previously made. For example, Zia was insisting the
Government allow BNP members who were convicted of graft to
run in the Parliamentary elections on December 18. Matin
asked the Ambassador what the Government should do if the BNP
decided to boycott the elections. The Ambassador urged the
Government to do everything in its power to persuade Zia to
compete in the election. He suggested, for example, that the
government give the parties a few extra days to register
their candidates in accordance with BNP demands. (Note: The
Government on November 9 extended the deadline for filing
candidate nominations from November 13 to November 20. End
note.) The Ambassador and Matin also discussed offering the
BNP some power in the Parliament should the Awami League win,
perhaps the deputy speaker position. The Ambassador said the
BNP would look foolish were the election to be held without
it and international observers declared the vote free, fair
and credible.

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AMBASSADOR RAISES SPORTS DIPLOMACY, IED AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
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4. (C) The Ambassador asked Matin to approve a Sports
Diplomacy initiative to support community policing. Noting
the Superindentents of Police in Patuakhali and
Chapai-Nowabganj wanted to participate in the program after
school exams in late November, the Ambassador explained the
only hold up was the lack of a letter from the Home Affairs
Ministry approving the project. Matin said providing a letter
should not be a problem.


5. (C) The Ambassador also asked Matin to approve the
Embassy,s counter-violence and IED awareness campaign,
designed to support Matin,s goal of providing a secure
environment before and after the elections. The Ambassador
said the messages to educate the public would be on
television, radio, and in newspaper advertisements. Matin and
Karim initially expressed reservations, saying an IED
awareness program would be interpreted by Bangladeshis
negatively and would create fear. Karim suggested using imams
and madrassa teachers to disseminate IED awareness messages;
communities trusted those religious leaders, who could allay
public fears. Matin and Karim said they would support the

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program, however, if DGFI and the RAB voiced approval.

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COMMENT: PUSHING FORWARD
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6. (C) In follow up to the meeting, the Ambassador will write
a letter to Matin thanking him for approving the Sports
Diplomacy program. The letter also will be faxed to
Superintendents of Police to show there are no more hurdles
to their participation in the program. The Embassy also will
seek support from the RAB and DGFI for the anti-violence and
IED awareness campaign to win final Home Ministry approval.
That campaign is particularly important to have in place
before the December election campaign, and the Embassy will
continue to urge the Ministry to act in all haste.

Moriarty