Dhaka, Oct 10 (IANS) The recent meeting between the Ambassadors of Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands with Awami League leader Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a former Minister in the Sheikh Hasina government, comes in the wake of remarks by several British lawmakers calling for the restoration of the rule of law in Bangladesh, a report said on Friday.

It added that this reflects the growing intensity of the movement led by overseas Bangladeshi Bengalis and others demanding not only a return to normalcy in Bangladesh but also that any future election include the full participation of the Awami League.

“It is a situation that should worry the unconstitutional regime headed by Muhammad Yunus. Indeed, speculation has of late been rife about some advisors in the regime and others associated with it mulling a safe exit out of the country. Such ideas have been gaining ground with the statements made by the elements now in the king’s party, the National Citizen Party (NCP), for these elements are clearly disillusioned by the failure of the regime to implement their plans into action in the last fourteen months,” noted Bangladeshi journalist, historian and political analyst Syed Badrul Ahsan wrote in Northeast News.

Ahsan stated that the young activists from the Awami League and its affiliated organisations are increasingly getting emboldened to take to the streets to chant slogans against the Yunus-led interim government.

“Their vociferous raising of the Joi Bangla slogan is a clear defiance of the diktat of those who usurped power in August last year. If public perceptions on social media are any indication, the interim government is sure to be caught in the whirlpool of problems in the coming months. That is certainly a factor not ignored by the diplomatic community in Dhaka, a reason behind the three envoys calling on Saber Hossain Chowdhury,” he added

According to the report, the political landscape in Bangladesh is undergoing significant shifts. The question now is no longer just whether the Awami League will return as it has been asserting itself, but whether the next year’s elections will take place under new arrangements.

Earlier on Tuesday, a European Union team met the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leadership in Dhaka, stressing that the elections must be free, fair, inclusive and credible. The development poses a new challenge for the Yunus regime, coming just a day after the three ambassadors met with Saber Hossain Chowdhury.

“The partisan nature of the Yunus regime will preclude any role for it in organising elections that will restore constitutional government in the country. Given its record, the regime is ill-equipped to preside over elections,” the report noted

–IANS

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