Bangladesh govt denies hand in party reforms

DHAKA, July 9 (Reuters) Bangladesh's army-backed interim government denied today it had any hand in efforts by internal opponents of the country's two main political leaders to curb their sweeping powers over their rival parties.

Reformists in both the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have proposed a series of measures to limit the powers of Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia -- and even to oust them from top party posts -- accusing them of being autocratic.

Hasina, chief of the Awami League, on Sunday said the government was using intelligence agencies to divide and weaken the political parties and sideline their leaders.

''The government is in no way involved in the proposed reforms of political parties,'' said retired major-general M A Matin, government adviser and head of an anti-corruption drive.

''Rather we expect full cooperation of the parties and their leaders to accomplish our tasks,'' he told reporters, referring to the government's efforts to hold a free and fair election.

Khaleda, the most recent prime minister and head of the BNP, said a so-called ''minus two'' strategy allegedly being pursued by the government to end the political careers of both women, who have alternated in power over the past 15 years, would not help democracy in Bangladesh.

''Those who are hatching the minus two conspiracy are the enemies of democracy and democratic politics. Having no mass base, they are plotting to seize state power through the backdoor,'' she told her followers.

A caretaker government took over in January in the wake of widespread political violence, imposed emergency rules and cancelled an election planned for Jan. 22.

The government, headed by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed, said the election would be held before the end of 2008, after completing electoral reforms and the crackdown on corruption.

Security forces have detained more than 170 key political figures, including Khaleda's son and political heir Tareque Rahman. Some have already been sentenced to prison terms for graft and extortion whilst in power.

The interim government is also trying to revive a number of corruption charges against Hasina and Khaleda.

As Hasina and Khaleda have taken a common stand against the interim government, media reports suggested that the two women, who have not spoken to each other for more than a decade, had a telephone conversation recently.

But Hasina's aide Begum Sajeda Chowdhury, a former minister, denied the report today.

REUTERS SV KP1606