DHAKA, 2 March 2004 — The main opposition parties including Awami League, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Workers Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, headed by Hasanul Huq Inu, have simultaneously called for a countrywide general strike on March 6 to protest the deadly attack on eminent litterateur Prof. Humayun Azad near Bangla Academy last Friday.
The simultaneous general strike, first ever against the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, was separately announced last night.
Other components of the pro-left 11-party alliance gave their moral support to the planned shut down. The Awami League enforced four dawn-to-dusk general strikes across Bangladesh last month.
Awami League leader Abdul Jalil MP said the general strike is also to protest the obstruction to opposition leader Hasina Wajed to the CMH, filing of “false cases” against Hasina and her party leaders, killing and political repression, obstruction to the opposition’s political programs, price hike and to press for mid-term national election.
Meanwhile, police arrested more than 100 workers and allegedly ransacked the Awami League central office in Dhaka city after two bombs went off in the neighborhood yesterday.
Angered by the blasts near the Peer Yemini Market and Muktijoddha Sangsad in the afternoon, which left one cop injured, police resorted to baton charge on the Awami League workers and cordoned the party office from two sides at about 5 p.m.
Awami League sources alleged that police in riot gear entered the party office at around 6 p.m., ransacked furniture and rounded up about 130 Awami Leaguers.
As AL chief Hasina went to the party office to see the situation, her motorcade was obstructed at many places.
