New violence in Bangladesh; political row persists

DHAKA, Oct 30 (Reuters) At least one person was killed and about 70 injured in fresh political violence in Bangladesh today as the opposition held off on accepting President Iajuddin Ahmed as the head of a caretaker government.

Iajuddin, who has a largely ceremonial role as president, took additional charge as chief adviser of the caretaker authority yesterday after at least 25 people were killed and hundreds wounded in earlier rioting by political activists.

A man was killed in a southwestern town and 70 people were injured in clashes between rival activists across the country today, raising the toll to 26 over the last four days, police said.

The president will appoint a panel of 10 advisers to help him ahead of the elections and take charge of key ministries.

''Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina and the outgoing Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia will soon meet the president separately to discuss the appointment of advisers, hopefully in a day or two,'' a spokesman at the presidential palace said.

The opposition wants the president to remove Chief Election Commissioner M A Aziz and his deputies, accusing them of being biased towards the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

''We cannot welcome him in his new role immediately,'' opposition Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina said. ''We will closely watch his actions to see if he is acceptable.'' The president intervened after former Supreme Court chief justice K M Hasan declined to head the caretaker government in the face of violent opposition. He was to take over when Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's five-year term ended on Saturday.

Bangladesh introduced the caretaker system in 1991 after military president Hossain Mohammad Errshad was toppled through a people's uprising led jointly by Khaleda and Hasina, who have however remained implacable foes since then.

The system, designed to prevent ruling parties from rigging polls, has worked generally well in three elections. But the Awami League now wants the system to be reformed to make it more efficient and reliable. The BNP is reluctant.

VIOLENCE Hasan's appointment triggered political violence that killed 26 and wounded hundreds across the impoverished country of 140 million over the weekend.

Today, opposition activists continued to blockade highways linking Dhaka with the rest of the country. Some vehicles returned on the streets of the capital but most offices and businesses were closed.

Awami League activists today marched through Dhaka streets demanding immediate removal of the chief election commissioner and updating the voters' list ahead of the election.

Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party said its supporters would take to the streets now ''in full force'' to counter Awami-led protesters.

''We have been pushed to the end of our patience. Now we will act tit-for-tat in case anyone tries to take us on,'' Khaleda's elder son and BNP joint secretary-general Tareque Rahman said late yesterday.

Khaleda herself will address a rally in the capital today afternoon, where she might announce her next plans, party officials said.

In an televised address to the nation yesterday, Iajuddin said he believed ''the new caretaker administration will be able to hold a free and fair election within the stipulated time''.

''I call upon all officials of the republic to act neutrally and help uphold independence and democracy.'' Iajuddin was appointed a non-executive president in 2002, after former president A Q M Badruddoza Chowdhury resigned over differences with Khaleda.

Political analysts say it is too early to judge whether he would be able to satisfy the opposition and become a symbol of national unity and trust.

Debapriyo Bhattacharya, from a leading economic and political think-tank, said the Awami League should try to cooperate with the president to help him ensure a credible election.

''It is time for looking forward ... The main concern now is how to hold a free and impartial election,'' he said.

''Opposition, too, has a role in building mutual trust.'' REUTERS SP VV1527