Dhaka---She has been stuck in her office for 40 days and slapped with a series of charges over the deadly violence outside, but Bangladesh's opposition leader Khaleda Zia says she and her arch enemy Sheikh Hasina can still reach a deal to end the turmoil.
In an exclusive interview with AFP, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Zia accused Prime Minister Hasina of killing democracy and the ruling Awami League of being behind the violence that has killed scores since the turn of the year.
But she also stressed her desire to reach a consensus to pull the country back from the brink, even if it meant talking to her nemesis.
Zia, who has twice served as prime minister, has not set foot outside her offices in downtown Dhaka ever since the security forces barricaded her compound on January 3 to prevent the 69-year-old from spearheading a mass pro-democracy protest.
Since then Bangladesh has witnessed an upsurge of violence that has revived memories of the bloody build-up to Hasina's controversial walkover re-election on January 5 last year in which more than 100 people died.
In her first interview with the foreign media since her confinement, Zia said she feared the bloodshed would get worse unless the two women could agree on a way to contest new elections under a neutral caretaker government.
"Every conscious and conscientious person in Bangladesh knows that the only way to resolve the current political crisis is to hold an inclusive, competitive and meaningful election," Zia told AFP by phone Wednesday.
"The more quickly it can be arranged, the better it is for everyone. If it is delayed, the crisis could become even more complex."
- Election boycott -
Zia's BNP and 19 other opposition parties boycotted last year's election, arguing that it could not be fair if its organisation was overseen by Hasina.
In her interview, she reiterated long-standing demands for Hasina to step aside and allow elections to take place under a "neutral" government but significantly she acknowledged that there was room for argument and compromise.
"We've not said others have to agree what we've proposed. It should be based on the consensus of all parties and through talks," she said.
"We have said a fair election should be held based on consensus of all (parties) and through talks. We want that.
"We also have to make some decisions on the election commission, administration and electoral rules so that a level playing field is created for all the parties."
Zia said that proposals that have been put forward to Hasina's camp but so far "we've not heard anything from them".
More than 80 people have been killed in political violence since January 3. Many of the victims have died in firebombings of buses and trucks since Zia ordered her supporters to stage a transport blockade that is in its sixth week.
Hasina has said she will not deal with "terrorists" or "murderers", comparing the arson deaths to the recent killing of a Jordanian pilot by the Islamic State organisation.
Zia herself was charged last week with "instigating" one of the deadly firebombings in which eight people were killed, in addition to earlier corruption charges.
But Zia said the arson attacks appeared to be the work of Hasina's Awami League and that "they are putting the blame on us".
AFP
