Strike, violence paralyze Bangladesh port city

Strike, violence paralyze Bangladesh port city

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AFP): Bangladesh's main port city was paralyzed on Sunday at the start of a two-day opposition-enforced general strike marked by sporadic violence, home-made bomb blasts and clashes with police, witnesses said.

At least 10 people were injured in running clashes between opposition activists and police at several districts of Chittagong, they said, adding shops and businesses were shut and streets empty amid loud blasts and violence.

Thousands of police and paramilitary troops were on high alert to prevent major violence ahead of Monday's mayoral polls which the opposition had vowed to disrupt as part of its anti- government campaign.

However, army troops which were deployed in the city in advance on Saturday for election duties were not seen on the streets on Sunday during the opposition action, the latest in a series of political violence and street agitations to grip the port city.

There was no immediate official explanation about their absence.

The latest shutdown has been called to coincide with Monday's polling and end early Tuesday. It is aimed at disrupting the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) elections.

The polls have also been contested at the High Court in Dhaka, which last month dismissed an opposition plea to suspend the poll schedule for Chittagong.

Mayoral elections in three other municipalities, including Dhaka, set for December were put off last month after legal tangles and opposition protests.

The opposition, which has enforced more than 27 days of nationwide strikes last year, is spearheading a campaign to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed to resign and hold fresh general elections, which are not due until 2001.

It has pledged to boycott all polls under the government claiming fair elections are impossible, and insisting early general elections should be held before local polls.

Last month incumbent Chittagong Mayor, Mohiuddin Chowdhury, was declared elected in the absence of any contestant leaving only a few posts of commissioners for Monday's balloting.

The BNP-led four party opposition groups who are boycotting the polls as part of their lengthy anti-government campaign have called for a half-day general strike across Bangladesh in support of the protests in Chittagong.

On Saturday, Chittagong was also rocked by sporadic bomb blasts, including at the local press club, witnesses said, adding opposition activists torched two vehicles when police swung into action to disperse them. Several activists were injured and arrested.