DHAKA, 29 April 2004 — At least 100 people were injured in fierce clashes between police and protesters in the capital Dhaka yesterday as life and businesses ground almost to a halt across Bangladesh on the first day of a two-day general strike enforced by the opposition, officials said.
The main opposition party Awami League and a faction of the National Socialist Party sponsored the strike demanding the resignation of the ruling Nationalist-Islamist coalition and the holding of mid-term polls under a neutral interim government.
Polls are not due in Bangladesh until October 2006 when the coalition completes its full five-year term in office after a resounding victory in the last national elections in 2001.
Most of the injuries occurred as police fired rubber bullets and used teargas to keep pickets off the roads. Security forces set up roadblocks around the central office of the Awami League stopping party workers from entering the premises.
The nationwide shutdown also followed overnight clashes between riot police and opposition protesters in central Dhaka leaving about 50 people injured and a dozen vehicles burning. Tension flared up in the country after the coalition government arrested thousands of suspected opposition workers on charges of inciting violence and destruction of public property.
Opposition chief Hasina Wajed claimed more than 12,000 activists were rounded up during a special police drive against street violence.
Buses and cars were off the streets, shops and banks were closed and schools and universities suspended classes as the authorities deployed some 8,600 policemen and paramilitary troops in unprecedented security measures in the capital.
Meanwhile, Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil hinted at delaying the deadline given by his party for the government to step down.
“The prime objective of our current movement is to unseat the government. It may take another 10 to 15 days”, he said in an interview with the United News of Bangladesh.
