BD traders seek govt, opposition dialogue: Suicide bombings
By Our Correspondent
DHAKA, Dec 1: The top business leaders of Bangladesh on Thursday expressed concern over the recent spate of suicide bombings and insisted that it was time for a dialogue between the government and the opposition towards a consensus on ways to address militancy.
The leaders in an emergency meeting convened by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry also called for the deployment of army at all the key installations to ward off any possible militant offensive.
The meeting resolved that the business leaders would meet Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and the leader of the opposition in parliament, Sheikh Hasina, in a day or two and convey to them the concerns of the business community.
They will also urge Khaleda and Hasina to put an end to the blame game over the blasts and take necessary measures against militancy.
“The politicians have to sit for an unconditional dialogue in order to identify the masterminds of the attacks that have ruptured our national sovereignty,” the FBCCI president, Mir Nasir Hossain, told the meeting, summing up the suggestions put forward by the business leaders.
He said all previous bomb attacks remained a mystery for reasons unknown and such a reality was a ‘shame for all of us’.
The meeting welcomed Khaleda Zia’s call for a political dialogue and her warning against ‘collaborators’, and urged the government to take effective steps to translate her promises into reality.
Some business leaders blamed the politicians for creating such problems as the rise of militancy and suggested that the government and the opposition should be served an ultimatum to put aside political differences and personal vendetta, and hold meaningful talks.
If the militant attacks continue, they said, not only would the country lose its export market and face difficulty in exporting manpower, the nation, as a whole, would also be ruined just as some insurgency-torn countries had been.
The federation will constitute a core group of other chambers and associations to decide the next course of action, such as meeting of the past presidents of the federation and chambers and an agitation programme by the business community and other professional groups.
