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)

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SUMMARY
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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.

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A SUMMIT AGENDA FOR THE TWO BEGUMS
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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.

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A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER IN ATMOSPHERICS?
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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.

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COMMENT: HELPING THE PROCESS ALONG
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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