Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DHAKA1325
2008-12-21 11:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dhaka
Cable title:  

KHALEDA ZIA DRAWS BIG CROWDS ON THE CAMPAIGN

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM BG 
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RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001325 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM BG
SUBJECT: KHALEDA ZIA DRAWS BIG CROWDS ON THE CAMPAIGN
TRAIL, BUT WHERE'S THE JUBILATION?

DHAKA 00001325 001.2 OF 002


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

------
SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001325

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM BG
SUBJECT: KHALEDA ZIA DRAWS BIG CROWDS ON THE CAMPAIGN
TRAIL, BUT WHERE'S THE JUBILATION?

DHAKA 00001325 001.2 OF 002


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

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) Amid heavy security, Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP) Chairwoman Khaleda Zia drew large but
less-than-rapturous crowds during a one-day swing through
Bogra District on 12/17. Many thousands of people attended
each of three major rallies in the district, a stronghold of
BNP support. They heard her rip the Caretaker Government that
has ruled since January 2007 and accuse it of being in
cahoots with the Awami League, the other major political
party in Bangladesh. She appeared to be framing the election
as a referendum on the Caretaker Government. She barely
touched on the main issues of her party's manifesto for the
December 29 election, instead presenting a largely negative
campaign message.

--------------
THE KHALEDA KARNIVAL HITS BOGRA
--------------


2. (SBU) PolOff attended two political rallies for Khaleda
Zia when she swung through Bogra on 12/17, one at Sherpur
upazilla (county) and another in the center of Bogra city.
The Sherpur event drew perhaps 10,000 people, nearly all of
them men, to a large field at the side of the main
Dhaka-Bogra road. Hundreds of people stood along the adjacent
road and perched atop the walls and buildings surrounding the
field to get a good look at what was the biggest show to hit
Bogra in a long time. Arriving several hours late, Zia
finally drove up in a white Mercedes S600 accompanied by a
truckload of soldiers, Special Security Force personal guards
and an ambulance. After being helped up the steep steps to
the dais, where she sat in a throne-like chair while being
introduced, Zia gave an eight-minute speech trashing the
current Caretaker Government. The crowd applauded only
occassionally and appeared less than jubilant. After she
introduced the local BNP candidate for Parliament, her
retinue quickly left and the crowd dispersed quietly. Her
evening rally in Bogra appeared to draw more people but also
failed to fire up the faithful. Although she spoke
forcefully, her voice nearly breaking at times, the crowd
rarely applauded with energy. Hundreds of people began

streaming from the mid-town event even before her 25-minute
speech ended.

--------------
ZIA BLASTS THE CARETAKER GOVERNMENT
--------------


3. (SBU) Zia devoted her speeches primarily to blasting the
Caretaker Government, which she said was formed with the
connivance of the Awami League when the latter realized it
could not win elections scheduled for January 2007. She
accused the Caretaker Governemnt of allowing prices to
explode and development work to grind to a halt. She also
said Bangladeshis had lived in fear and had not been free to
speak their minds during the Government's two-year State of
Emergency, which ended on December 17. Zia also criticized
the Caretaker Government for jailing her two sons, both of
whom she said were healthy when they entered prison but in
poor physical shape when released to go abroad for medical
treatment. She also reminded her supporters that she had
refused to buckle to pressure from the Caretaker Government
to leave the country as a condition for her jail release.
That was a none-too-subtle swipe at her political arch-foe,
Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, who also was jailed on
graft charges but agreed to leave the country on medical
parole. (Note: Hasina returned in November to lead her party
in the upcoming elections. End note.)


4. (SBU) A subtext of Zia's speeches was her special
relationship to Bogra, birthplace of her husband and BNP
founder, former President Ziaur Rahman. In one of her few
lines that received enthusiastic applause, she noted Bogra
had benefited greatly under BNP governments resonsible for
building local medical and nursing colleges, hospitals and
wider roads. She devoted minimal time to discussing the
party's election manifesto. At the Bogra rally, she gave a
perfunctory listing of the manifesto's main points of

DHAKA 00001325 002.2 OF 002


ensuring low commodity prices, greater employment and more
electricity production.

-------------- --
COMMENT: GOING NEGATIVE FAILS TO FIRE THE CROWD
-------------- ---


5. (C) Going negative is a time-honored staple of Bangladeshi
politics. Yet Zia failed to greatly fire up the friendly
Bogra crowds with her rants against the current regime.
Although Bangladeshis have blamed the Caretaker Government
for sharply rising prices, they also applauded its campaign
against corruption, particularly the early stages when it
hauled many prominent lawmakers and businessmen into jail.
Despite Zia's comments to the contrary, the State of
Emergency actually had little effect on the lives of most
Bangladeshis. Arguing that the Caretaker Government was the
brainchild of the Awami League also may be difficult for some
to accept given that both Hasina and Zia were jailed during
its rule. As a result, framing the campaign as a referendum
on the Caretaker Government may create as many political
risks as opportunities for the BNP. One effect of the
strategy is to heighten concerns among Caretaker Government
officials and their military supporters that they may become
victims of political retribution should the BNP win the
election.
MORIARTY