Tight security as Bangladesh blockade begins

DHAKA, Jan 7 (Reuters) Police imposed tight security in the Bangladeshi capital today as a three-day transport blockade took hold, driving most vehicles off the road, witnesses said.

Hundreds of activists of a multiparty alliance boycotting the January 22 general election gathered at strategic intersections in Dhaka to ensure no buses or lorries left or entered the city.

Last night, police banned rallies, blockades and other protests to try to maintain order in the run-up to the vote, promising that offenders would be dealt with strictly. But the alliance led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, head of the Awami League, vowed to go ahead with the transport shutdown.

The country's long-running political crisis deepened further on Wednesday when Hasina's alliance announced it would boycott the election, accusing the interim government charged with organising the polls of favouring her opponents.

The Jatiya Party of former army ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad and the Liberal Democratic Party led by former president A Q M Badruddoza Chowdhury also decided to boycott the election.

The alliance said the blockade was aimed at forcing President Iajuddin Ahmed to step down as head of the interim government and force the election commission to announce new poll schedules.

Iajuddin, in a statement late yesterday, said there was no way he or the election commission would delay the ballot because of constitutional constraints.

Troops began patrolling Dhaka's streets yesterday, while paramilitary soldiers and elite Rapid Action Battalion members fanned out across the country to try to foil the blockade.

The Awami League announced plan to block access to the presidential palace on Tuesday, raising fears of more violence.

At least 45 people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes between supporters of Sheikh Hasina and those of her rival, immediate past prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Khaleda, chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), ended her five-year term in late October and handed power to the interim government.

Hasina accuses Iajuddin of favouring Khaleda in the coming polls and says no election under him would be free and impartial. She demanded his resignation.

Iajuddin has refused to quit. He is backed by the BNP and its ally, Jamaat-e-Islami.

In a statement yesterday, the European Union said it was ''deeply concerned and disappointed by recent developments relating to the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, in particular the decision by major parties to withdraw from participating on January 22''.

REUTERS SSC KP0909