Andreas Michaelis, the head of the five-member EU troika team told a press conference at Sonargaon Hotel wrapping up its four-day visit to Bangladesh that they had discussed various aspects of the role of the armed forces in Bangladesh during the meeting with the army chief, Moyeen U Ahmed.
‘We were assured by General Moyeen that there was no intention on the part of the army to play a role in the country’s politics,’ he added.
On the next general elections, Andreas Michaelis said that the European Union stressed the need for holding parliamentary elections as early as possible in 2008 with the timing of those elections carefully calibrated to the implementation of necessary reforms.
The European Union troika on Saturday called for an early lifting of the ban on politics in Bangladesh to ensure that the parties can substantially contribute to the reforms agenda undertaken by the interim government.
The team, which arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday to assess Bangladesh’s preparedness towards holding of its stalled general elections, had meetings with a section of the civil society, political leaders, officials, advisers, head of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the chief election commissioner and the chief adviser to the interim government.
