Bangladesh activists in fierce battles with police
Source: Reuters
(Updates number injured, adds Canadian envoy's comment) By Anis Ahmed DHAKA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Police battled political activists throwing bombs and stones in the Bangladeshi capital on Tuesday, leaving at least 100 injured on the third day of a transport blockade called to scuttle elections. The clashes erupted in the Fakirapool area of Dhaka when the activists, defying a blanket ban on marches and rallies, tried to storm police barricades and march to the presidential palace. "It's a fierce battle going on for couple of hours now, with activists exploding bombs and throwing stones at police firing rubber bullets and teargas," Reuters cameraman Rafiqur Rahman said. The fighting then spread to nearby Bangabandhu Avenue where police tried to storm the headquarters of mainstream political party Awami League but were repelled by bomb-throwing party activists, Rahman and other witnesses said. "Smoke from the home-made bombs and teargas shells covered the area, with people running for cover," one witness said. The injured included 20 leaders of different parties, while police said they detained dozens of activists. About 230 people have been injured in clashes during the past three days. A multi-party alliance led by the Awami League of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is boycotting the Jan. 22 general elections. It says the interim government that is organising the poll has failed to ensure a free and fair vote. "It cannot be a credible election without full participation of all parties," Canadian High Commissioner Barbara Richardson said on Tuesday. In a sign of further trouble, Hasina's alliance has vowed to block roads leading to the palace of President Iajuddin Ahmed, who heads the caretaker administration. Abdul Jalil, general secretary of Awami League, called on alliance leaders and workers to resist the elections and urged voters to boycott polling centres. But Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by immediate past prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia and Hasina's rival, urged BNP workers to foil any attempt to disrupt the vote. "Anyone has the right to boycott an election but no one has a right to resist the polls," he said. The blockade was largely enforced nationwide, with road, rail and ferry services badly disrupted. Deliveries from the ports remained suspended and business centres and schools were shut. Hasina's alliance, which ordered the blockade, has alleged that Iajuddin favours Khaleda and that his interim government has failed to create a congenial atmosphere for a free and fair election. It wants Iajuddin to resign but he has refused. (Additional reporting by Nizam Ahmed and Masud Karim)
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