Bangladesh still restricting ex-PM movements

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Dhaka, Apr 30: Bangladesh's army-backed interim government is still restricting the movements of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, despite public denials from the authorities, her brother and close associates said today.

Khaleda could not attend the post-funeral rites for a dead colleague from her Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the capital Dhaka late yesterday because she did not receive clearance from the security forces, associates said.

''The reason is well understood by all of us,'' Khaleda's younger brother Sayed Iskandar told reporters.

Media reports earlier said Khaleda had been under virtual confinement at her home since April 1, while the South Asian country's caretaker government sought to persuade her to leave the country. The government has denied such moves.

Khaleda and her main political rival, Sheikh Hasina, have been targeted by the interim government in an anti-corruption drive ahead of elections.

''For safety, it is our duty to advise VIPs to avoid certain unimportant engagements,'' a senior security official told Reuters today. He did not elaborate.

Khaleda has visited Iskandar's house for a family dinner and also met some BNP leaders at her home in recent days, after the authorities said on Wednesday they had imposed no restrictions on her movement and were not pressing her to go into exile.

Close associates said she might still soon visit Saudi Arabia -- where she had been thought to be heading into exile -- to perform a short pilgrimage to Mecca with most of her family.

Meanwhile, party leaders from Hasina's Awami League said they expected the former prime minister might fly to Bangladesh on May 7, after the government on Wednesday reversed a decision to bar her from returning from a holiday in the United States.

Hasina faces charges of corruption and murder related to street violence in Dhaka last October. She has denied the allegations and vowed to fight to clear her name.

British Airways refused to fly her from London to Bangladesh on April 15, citing government restrictions.

The rivalry between Khaleda and Hasina, who had alternated in power for the past 15 years, flared into violence in October, prompting the interim government to cancel elections in January and declare a state of emergency.

All political activity has since been banned and security forces have detained more then 160 key political figures, including Khaleda's elder son and political heir apparent Tareque Rahman, on various corruption charges.

REUTERS

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