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EU presses for talks

Says political unrest sending devastating signal to investors abroad

Diplomatic Correspondent
Bangladesh's image abroad faces a serious crisis because of political violence, hartals, corruption and disappearances, European Union envoys said yesterday.
They said incidents of street violence, killings and disappearances in Bangladesh give a negative signal to the outside world and discourage foreign investments in Bangladesh despite its huge potential.
Eight EU ambassadors and a high commissioner in Dhaka also called for dialogue between political parties to resolve the problems and create an environment conducive to foreign investments.
They made the observations at a press conference organised on the occasion of the European Day yesterday at the Lakeshore Hotel in the capital.
They expressed concern over the disappearance of BNP leader Ilias Ali and the killing of garment workers' leader Aminul Islam, and called for a thorough probe into the incidents.
The EU envoys also stressed the need for dialogue between major parties to end disagreements for holding the next general election in a free and fair manner. They said human rights are the central point of EU's development cooperation with Bangladesh.
The Head of the EU Delegation in Dhaka Ambassador William Hanna, Netherlands Ambassador Alphons Hennekens, German Ambassador Holger Michael, Danish Ambassador Svend Oiling, Swedish Ambassador Anneli Lindahl Kenny, Italian Ambassador Giorgio Gugliemino, Spanish Ambassador Luis Tejada Chacon, Bright High Commissioner Rober Gibson and French Ambassador MichellHnquier.
William Hanna called for a thorough investigation into the disappearance of BNP leader Ilias Ali and killing of workers' leader Aminul. He urged all to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue within or outside parliament to settle all issues.
“Parliament is a good place for dialogue,” he said.
Danish Ambassador Svend Oiling said the reports of political violence in the streets and disappearance published in newspapers here give a negative signal to the outside world as well as foreign investors.
Spanish Ambassador Luis Tejada Chacon said they are trying to portray a bright image of Bangladesh. Otherwise, foreign companies will move away from Bangladesh and that would be unfortunate for the country.
The French ambassador said it is difficult to convince
French companies to invest in Bangladesh because of the country's image problem.
German Ambassador Holger Michael suggested that Bangladesh can improve the investment climate by addressing the problems of infrastructure, electricity, transport and bureaucracy.
British High Commissioner Robert Gibson said violent demonstrations and hartal impede production and harm the economy. They try hard so that the British-aided development projects are not affected by hartals.
Replying to a query, he said the British government that arranged training for Rapid Action Battalion has no plan to arrange fresh training for the elite force.