BANGLADESH: DHAKA: ARMY CALLED IN TO RESTORE LAW AND ORDER

(20 Mar 1996) Natural Sound

The army has been called in to restore law and order in Bangladesh after a violent general strike crippled the country.

Fighting has erupted between soldiers and demonstrators in the capital, Dhaka.

The government has sent in the army to help restore order in Dhaka and Chittagong, to open blockaded roads and railways between the two cities.

Officials say the army was sent in on Tuesday night and soldiers took their positions in the capital.

The opposition party had announced its plans to march to the Parliament building in Dhaka in protest against the sitting Parliament.

Enraged workers clashed with police and pro-government activist when their path to Parliament was blocked.

Gun shots and teargas canister shots were exchanged and crude bombs exploded in different parts of the city.

Police fired rubber bullets and teargas canisters into the crowds to disperse the demonstrators.

Many demonstrators were severely beaten by police as they were taken into custody.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia told the Associated Press: “The government had no option but to respond to the call of the people who have been unjustly subjected to hardship
and miseries by … the opposition parties”.

Mrs. Zia said her Cabinet, which was sworn in Tuesday, has agreed to present a constitutional amendment to Bangladesh’s newly elected Parliament to meet opposition demands for changes in the electoral system to ensure fair voting.

But the opposition has called Mrs. Zia’s government illegal and refused to accept any action by the Parliament as legitimate.

It was only the second time during a two-year campaign by opposition parties to unseat Prime Minister Khaleda Zia that she has deployed the army.

For months, general strikes called by the opposition have devastated the economy of this poor nation.

An indefinite one began March 9, and at least 49 people have been killed and 2,500 injured in clashes between pro and anti-government activists.

That includes three people who died and 350 who were injured in clashes across the country on Tuesday.

All efforts to negotiate a settlement between Mrs. Zia and the opposition have failed, leading many people to believe that the military could take power in Bangladesh to end the standoff.

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