AMBASSADOR CONGRATULATES SHEIKH HASINA

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 000014 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/PB, SCA/FO, AND S/CT DEPT PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PTER KDEM BG SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR CONGRATULATES SHEIKH HASINA REF: 08 DHAKA 1361 Classified By: AMBASSADOR JAMES F. MORIARTY. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) In a January 2 phone conversation, I congratulated Prime Minister-designate Sheikh Hasina on the Awami League's impressive electoral victory. I noted that the victory was even more noteworthy in that it occurred in an election that was widely acknowledged to have been the freest and fairest in Bangladesh's history. I also noted that the conciliatory, magnanimous tone she had set in her public comments since the election was exactly what Bangladesh needed to begin healing the bitter political divisions of past years. Sheikh Hasina Thanks the United States ====================================== ¶2. (C) Hasina replied that the very size of the electoral victory had increased the pressure on her and on the Awami League to deliver good governance for the people -- and that would be hard to do without some degree of cooperation from the defeated parties, particularly the BNP. She thanked the U.S. Embassy and the USG profusely for unflaggingly supporting the return of democracy in Bangladesh. "Without your pressure, we would not have had a clean election last week." ¶3. (C) I ended by once again congratulating her and adding that I hoped that she would be getting a phone call in the coming days from Washington. I also reminded her that I would like to meet with her shortly after she took the oath of office, in order to discuss a number of bilateral issues, including C/T cooperation. She said she looked forward to the meeting. COMMENT ======= ¶4. (C) Understandably, Sheikh Hasina is in top spirits following the Awami League's overwhelming victory in the 12/29 Parliamentary election. More encouragingly, up till now, she has been making all the right moves in terms of reaching out to the opposition and trying to tone down some of the bitter partisanship of Bangladesh politics. She has indicated that she wants the opposition to play a role in Parliament and has worked hard to discourage her followers from engaging in post-election triumphalism. In the coming days, her choices for her Cabinet will be one clear sign whether she genuinely wants to change the way things have been done in the past. MORIARTY