CARETAKER GOVERNMENT ADVISER SEEKS SUMMIT WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000985 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM BG SUBJECT: CARETAKER GOVERNMENT ADVISER SEEKS SUMMIT WITH SHEIKH HASINA AND KHALEDA ZIA REF: DHAKA 982 Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Commerce and Education Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman told Ambassador Moriarty on 9/16 that the Caretaker Government was seeking to organize a summit with former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia to secure their commitment to democratic reform. He said the Government also planned a series of policy summits for senior political leaders to get them focused on the key issues that will confront the government elected in Parliamentary elections in December. The adviser expressed guarded optimism the summit could be arranged and succeed, adding that the two ladies appeared less imperious and more willing to compromise than before they entered jail last year on corruption charges. The release of the two women from jail and efforts to get them to jointly support at least some political reforms are part of the Caretaker Government's end game for the return to democracy; at least for now, that scenario appears plausible. -------------- A SUMMIT AGENDA FOR THE TWO BEGUMS -------------- ¶2. (C) At a meeting with Ambassador Moriarty on September 16, Hossain confirmed that the Caretaker Government was trying to arrange a series of summit meetings between Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairwoman Khaleda Zia. Hossain, who met with Zia soon after her release from prison on bail September 11, flew on September 17 to the United States, where he planned to meet Hasina to discuss the possible summit. Initial feedback from senior officials in both parties toward the proposed summit generally was positive (see reftel). Nonetheless, Hossain said he was trying to keep expectations low because of the real possibility of failure. He said he would continue to pursue the summit proposal only if it were well planned and therefore had good prospects of success. ¶3. (C) Hossain said the Government would likely ask the two ladies, whose bitter political rivalry includes allegations of attempted assassination, to hold an initial meeting to break the ice. "It must be a trusting moment," he said. The agenda for further meetings would be modest. The Government would like Zia and Hasina to draw up a list of party members who would not be nominated to run for Parliament because of corruption allegations; to agree to a code of conduct for the election campaign and for behavior in Parliament; to establish a committee that would undertake a long-term study and present Parliament with proposals to improve governance through constitutional amendments; and to pledge post-election stability through policy continuation. Hossain said the two ladies would be much more likely to agree on reform if they took the steps together rather than separately. Although he did not set a target date for the summits, they clearly would need to begin no later than October. He also did not say who would participate in addition to Zia and Hasina. ¶4. (C) Hossain is one of four advisers crafting the end game for the Caretaker Government, which came to power in January 2007 with a mandate to reform the country's corrupt and violent political culture and organize the Parliamentary elections. He said the Government also wanted to hold three policy summits with political leaders in November to help shape views on investment and economic growth, administrative reform and education. If the parties focused on policy, he said, the campaign would become less personal and bitter; in the past the personalization of politics led to violent labor strikes and street protests. -------------- A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER IN ATMOSPHERICS? -------------- ¶5. (C) The adviser said he had noted a change both in the public mood toward the two ladies and in their own behavior. He cited the strong disapproval voiced across the political spectrum at a BNP Standing Committee resolution to make Zia "leader for life" of the party (which she had subsequently renounced). The incident demonstrated Zia's imperious DHAKA 00000985 002 OF 002 attitude, long fueled by her many surrounding sycophants, had changed, he said. Hossain also noted that Hasina had maintained a relatively low profile while abroad on medical parole since June. "Everyone has been surprised by the fact that Sheikh Hasina has not been garrulous" in making disparaging remarks about the Caretaker Government, he said. The Ambassador noted that when he met Hasina in Washington in July she had said many of the Caretaker Government's moves to promote political reform were positive. -------------- COMMENT: HELPING THE PROCESS ALONG -------------- ¶6. (C) Although the Ambassador has expressed public support for a Zia-Hasina summit, after the meeting with Hossain he told waiting journalists that it was up to the Caretaker Government and the political leaders -- not the United States -- to bring the plan to fruition. Hossain told the Ambassador he had no objection if diplomats wanted to meet with the two ladies after the Eid holiday in early October, when Hasina should be back from her extended stay abroad. Post will pursue separate meetings between the Ambassador and the two ladies in which he can continue to push the message of political reconciliation and compromise as necessary ingredients for a successful return to democracy. Moriarty