Bangladesh steps up security for opposition rally

DHAKA, Sep 18 (Reuters) Thousands of riot police patrolled the streets of the Bangladeshi capital today ahead of one of the biggest rallies planned by the opposition in recent weeks to force electoral reforms ahead of polls next year.

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is leading the 14-party opposition alliance against the government, is expected to announce plans for further protests in the run-up to the elections in January 2007.

Police have detained some 5,000 people over the last three days, which opposition leaders said was aimed at scaring away supporters from attending the rally, planned as a showdown with the government led by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

The opposition wants the government to remove the chief election commissioner and his deputies, accusing them of a pro-government bias, as a precondition for free and fair elections.

It also wants a say in choosing the head of a caretaker administration that would supervise the election.

''No reforms, no election,'' Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the main opposition Awami League, said.

The government has rejected the demand for reforms and instead accused the opposition of trying to disrupt the elections.

Troops from the elite Rapid Action battalion stood guard at the Paltan public ground in Dhaka where the rally was planned, while many were deployed on rooftops overlooking the venue.

Reuters PB DB1332