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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Over 80 hurt on first day of Bangladesh strike |
| 2004-08-24 |
| Opposition activists in Bangladesh attacked railway stations and battled police across the country on Tuesday on the first day of a two-day strike called to protest against a deadly grenade attack at the weekend. More than 80 people were wounded in clashes with police when protesters smashed railway stations and removed tracks to stop trains and attacked government buildings, witnesses and police said. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse anti-government mobs shouting: "Punish the bombers". The dawn-to-dusk strike was called by the main opposition Awami League after a deadly Saturday grenade attack on a crowd listening to a speech by party president and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina escaped with minor cuts, but 19 people were killed and about 150 wounded. "This is a heinous and barbaric attack," Foreign Minister Morshed Khan told Reuters in an interview. "If we can avoid the blame game, all parties should put their heads together, take stock of the situation and identify the culprits." The most high-profile victim, the popular head of the Awami League's women's wing, Ivy Rahman, died early on Tuesday. "Ivy Rahman's death intensified the countrywide protest," Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the party, told Reuters. The League later said the strike would end early -- at noon on Wednesday -- to allow people to attend Rahman's funeral. The secular party, which helped lead Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971, blamed Islamic fundamentalist partners in the four-party ruling coalition for the violence and demanded Prime Minister Khaleda Zia resign. The government has rejected the accusations and blamed the attack on groups that want to destabilise Bangladesh. The image of Bangladesh as a role model Muslim-majority democracy had taken a short-term hit, Foreign Minister Khan said. "This image has taken a temporary hit." he said. "In a matter of months Bangladesh will be again resilient and, Inshallah (God willing), we hope we will be able to take the culprits to task." Dhaka was open to the idea of foreign help to investigate the blasts but at a later stage and if required, he said. Several countries, alarmed at the attack on a former prime minister, have offered to help. They include the United States, India and Britain. "After the initial assessment of the incident, should we require help from any country, we shall not hesitate to go to the best source or sources of such assistance if necessity demands," Khan said. Analysts said the attack had put pressure on Khaleda Zia's government, accused of inaction after other bombings but said they saw no immediate threat to its stability. "I don't think the government's stability is immediately threatened by the latest attack," said Dr. Dilrowshan Zinnat Ara of department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Dhaka University. "But if such incidents continue and the government is unable to rein in those involved ... the ultimate result is unpredictable," he said. In the capital, Dhaka, police used bamboo canes to chase off hundreds of left-wing activists trying to halt rickshaws. About a dozen were wounded, police said. Dhaka's normally teeming streets were largely deserted and schools, shops, offices and colleges were shut. Armed police patrols patrolled the streets of main cities. More than 160 people have been wounded in clashes between opposition activists and police since Saturday's attack. Bangladesh has a history of political violence, military uprisings and bombings in which two presidents -- Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Khaleda's husband Ziaur Rahman -- were killed in 1975 and 1981 respectively. Khaleda condemned Saturday's attack and on Monday asked for a meeting with Hasina to express her sympathies. Hasina refused. It would have been the first meeting between the rivals in 14 years. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |