Opposition vows to oust Hasina

Opposition vows to oust Hasina

DHAKA (Reuters): Bangladesh opposition party leaders, who once had guns trained on each other, vowed on Wednesday to unite to drive Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office and form a "national patriotic government".

The opposition has enforced nearly 50 days of strikes since Hasina formed her 1996 government. About 25 people have died during the crippling strikes, which have hurt industry and cost the impoverished country hundreds of millions of dollars.

The leaders made their vow at a meeting on Tuesday night.

Begum Khaleda Zia, former prime minister and leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and ex- president Hossain Mohammad Ershad of the Jatiya Party, joined Golam Azam of fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami and Moulana Azizul Hoq of the Islami Oikya Front at the meeting.

The prime minister has rejected the opposition's demand for early elections. Hasina said polls would take place in 2001 as scheduled.