Bangla leaders must not harass politicians: Hasina

Dhaka, Mar 4: Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasinatoday asked the army-backed interim administration not to harasspolitical leaders in the name of fighting corruption.

''The corrupt must be arrested and punished, but no genuinepolitician should be harassed in the drive to eliminate corruption,''Hasina told a meeting of her Awami League.

She made the remarks after Fakhruddin Ahmed, head of the interimadministration, said the fight against corruption would continue in anattempt to set the stage for a free and fair elections at a date to bedetermined.

Talking to officials in the southern coastal district of Barisaltoday, Fakhruddin asked security officials and state employees to workwithout fear or favour.

But Hasina said ''genuine politicians are not corrupt and those indulge in corruption are not politicians''.

''Corruption has spread through every sector and now we musteradicate it forever to bring back the prestige of the nation and theadministration,'' Fakhruddin said.

An election originally planned for January 22 was postponedfollowing weeks of political violence in which 45 people were killedand hundreds injured. No new date for the polls has been announced.

More than 150 senior politicians from all sides of Bangladesh'spolitical spectrum -- including former ministers -- have been arrestedsince President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency on January11.

The authorities have seized property and frozen bank accounts of many of those detained politicians.

Reuters>