DHAKA, 12 March 2007 — Most Bangladesh political party offices were under lock and key yesterday after the country’s interim government banned even indoor political events indefinitely as it tries to pave the way for new elections.
Political activities on the streets or in public including strikes and roadblocks — trade marks of Bangladesh’s confrontational politics — have been banned since the government imposed a state of emergency on Jan. 11.
But authorities issued a further order at the weekend banning indoor political activity as well.
“Recently it has been noticed that some political parties have been misusing the flexibility granted under the emergency rules,” said a Home Ministry statement.
“They are trying to undermine the state of emergency by not strictly adhering to the provisions of the emergency,” the ministry said. “So the government has decided to ban all political activities — both indoors and outdoors — with immediate effect.”
