B'desh Islamic students rally in thousands

DHAKA, Apr 27: Tens of thousands of students from Bangladesh's fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party rallied in the capital Dhaka under tight security today, trying to match their rivals in a show of strength.

The rally, organised by Islami Chhatra Shibir, Jamaat's student wing, followed similar gatherings of student supporters of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and main opposition party Awami League in recent weeks.

Jamaat is a partner of the BNP, headed by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, and its support is crucial when she faces Awami chief Sheikh Hasina in the next parliamentary election in January.

The two women have dominated politics in the mainly Muslim Bangladesh for the past 15 years, while the Islamic party has emerged slowly as a political power since Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan.

Students play a key role in Bangladesh politics, mustering support for their respective parties, which, ironically, thrive more in feuding than helping to solve national issues.

Witnesses said more than 50,000 students attended Thursday's rally, one of the biggest in the city in recent months.

Opposition parties accuse Jamaat-e-Islami of helping the Pakistani army during the 1971 war and more recently of harbouring Islamist outlaws blamed for a string of bombings that have killed at least 30 people and wounded 150 since August 2005.

Jamaat denies the charge.

REUTERS