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.