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Protests Shut Down Bangladesh Cities
 DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - An opposition-sponsored strike closed shops and shut down public transport across Bangladesh on Sunday as authorities deployed thousands of security forces to deter violence. The main opposition Awami League and its 13 allies called the dawn-to-dusk strike to protest an alleged government plan to compile new voter lists that favor the ruling coalition.Nearly 7,000 police and security forces were mobilized in the capital to prevent any violence during the protest, Dhaka Metropolitan Police said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of clashes. Stores were shuttered and schools closed in Dhaka, a city of 10 million people. The streets remained largely devoid of public transport, and only a few tricycle rickshaws operated with permission from strike organizers. Similar disruption occurred in more than 60 cities and towns, according to police officials who requested anonymity because they are not allowed to speak to media. Police erected barbed-wire barricades around the Awami League's downtown Dhaka headquarters, preventing several hundred protesters from taking to the streets. The opposition parties were calling for the resignation of three election commission officials whom they accuse of plotting to create voter lists that would drop names of government opponents head of next year's general elections. The government denies the allegations and opposition charges that it influences the five-member commission. Posted by: Steve White 2006-01-22 |
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