Tight security on eve of Bangla power transfer

Dhaka, Oct 27: Security was tightened in the Bangladeshi capital today as Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia prepared to hand over power to a caretaker authority, after some 100 people were injured in clashes between political rivals.

Mrs Khaleda is due to hand over power to the interim authority tomorrow at the end of her five-year rule. The opposition vowed a countrywide protest if Khaleda did not reconsider her choice of a caretaker chief to supervise parliamentary elections in January.

Metropolitan authorities deployed extra police and members of the elite rapid action battalion (RAB) to ensure a smooth transition, although Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the opposition Awami League promised to control their supporters.

Street demonstrations and strikes, at times violent, often play a vital role in shaping Bangladesh's politics.

The BNP wants former Supreme Court Chief Justice K M Hasan for the caretaker's job but the Awami League and its allies oppose him, citing his past association with the BNP.

The political balance in the country may have changed yesterday when dissident leaders and lawmakers of the BNP formed a new movement, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and vowed to fight against Khaleda.

They accused the prime minister of creating a family dynasty, promoting corruption and not doing enough to contain the rise of Islamist militants blamed for a wave of bomb attacks last year.

Khaleda was expected to reply to the charges in a national broadcast today evening.

BNP activists torched or ransacked the homes of a number of LDP leaders across the country on Thursday and clashed with Awami supporters in Dhaka and elsewhere. Police and witnesses said at least 100 people were injured and many vehicles damaged.

More violence was feared today as Awami supporters begin a three-day programme of rallies and marches in Dhaka from today noon.

A 14-party alliance led by Awami chief Sheikh Hasina said it would cripple much of the country, including Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong from tomorrow if Hasan takes over as caretaker.

Police said both the government and opposition parties had called for rallies in the capital for tomorrow -- at the same time and place -- raising fears of clashes.

Police have ordered an indefinite ban on assembly of people in Dhaka carrying sticks or other implements that could be used as lethal weapons.

Reuters