B'desh martyrs day clouded by political woes

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

DHAKA, Dec 14: Thousands of Bangladeshis gathered today at a memorial for intellectuals and professionals killed during the independence war but the country was focused on its present day strife ahead of elections next month.

Bangladesh marks the day to remember hundreds of teachers, doctors, engineers and artists gunned down or bayoneted to death by the Pakistani army in 1971 -- just two days before former East Pakistan won a final victory in the nine-month war.

Political rivals Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina separately laid wreaths at the memorial in Dhaka early today, keeping alive their decade-old animosity.

The two women, who alternated as prime ministers of the impoverished country for the last 15 years, have not spoken to each other for more than a decade and are now locked in a tense battle for power in parliamentary elections set for January 23.

''They have put the country across an unsurmountable political divide. They even don't hesitate to demonstrate this at sad occasions like the Martyred Intellectuals Day,'' said Taslimul Haque, a government official.

Hasina has called for a siege of election offices across the country today to press for the removal of election officials she accuses of a bias towards Khaleda and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Hasina who leads the 14-party Awami League alliance is also demanding that President Iajuddin Ahmed step down as head of the interim administration for failing to demonstrate neutrality.

Khaleda who handed over power to Iajuddin after her five-year tenure ended in October said Hasina's demands were aimed to ''sabotage the elections, destroy democracy and cause a constitutional crisis.'' Bangladesh's constitution says new elections must be held within three months after the expiry of tenure of the previous government.

After weeks of violent protests and strikes, President Iajuddin ordered deployment of army to assist the civil administration ahead of the polls, but Hasina and her allies said the move was unnecessary.

The army deployment was also criticised by civil society and a human rights group said there was concern that security forces could be used by Khaleda's BNP for political ends.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion has killed more than 350 people in custody since it was created in 2004 and could be used by the BNP ahead of next month's election, the US based Human Rights Watch said.

''Human Rights Watch is concerned that Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which maintains great influence over the caretaker government and its security structures, may use RAB for political means during the campaign,'' the group said.

President Iajuddin said yesterday that he was determined to hold a fair and credible election and that the army he called to reinforce security would remain neutral.

''They army will remain deployed but will not intervene,'' a spokesman at the president's palace said.

Reuters

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X