By NNN-PTI
Dhaka : European Parliament has urged Bangladesh’s interim government to speed up restoration of democracy and expressed concern over the arrest and detention of former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia.
“Parliament is concerned about the arrest and justification for ongoing detention of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party President Khaleda Zia,” newspapers here today quoted an EP resolution as saying on Thursday.
The resolution also urged the government to lift the ban on political activities to prepare all political parties and organisations to prepare for fair elections.
It said “the caretaker government has made progress on tackling corruption but has been far less assertive on political reform.” The European Parliament urged the authorities to conduct the trials transparently, according to the rule of law and allow access by international observers to all tribunals as it asked for emergency to lifted in Bangladesh.
“The Council and the Commission are asked to monitor carefully the human rights and political situation in Bangladesh in the light of recent events and to make representations over the continuing use of the state of emergency,” read the resolution.
“The members of the European Union parliament believe that Bangladesh’s longstanding tradition of secular democracy, including respect for human rights and especially women’s rights, freedom of speech and religious tolerance, is increasingly under threat.”
The EP resolution came two months after EU envoys in Dhaka reiterated support for the interim government in its attempt to fight corruption to cleanse politics but insisted on an early return of parliamentary democracy.