Bangladesh power shift postponed
By Anita Shankar,WNS Bangladesh Correspondent
DACCA - The swearing-in ceremony of a caretaker administration in Bangladesh has been postponed amid street clashes between government and opposition supporters. It was cancelled because KM Hasan, the man due to head the government, was ill, a presidential spokesman said. Up to six people died as thousands took to the streets on Friday hours before outgoing PM Khaleda Zia's term expired.
The interim government is to organise elections in January, which the opposition fears Mr Hasan will rig. Fresh violence broke out in a number of towns and cities as the handover ceremony, which had been scheduled to take place on Saturday, approached. The opposition Awami League has threatened to paralyse the country if Mr Hasan takes office, with demonstrations and blockades of roads, railways and the country's main port. It says Mr Hasan, a retired chief justice, is a stooge of the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and cannot be trusted to run the supposedly-neutral interim administration tasked with organising the polls.
Mrs Zia promised to respect the constitution in a speech hours before her five-year term expired at midnight on Friday. She appealed for calm across the country as fresh violence broke out in a number of towns and cities. She promised the poll would be free and fair, and said the constitution would "safeguard a peace-loving and responsible nation". It was a matter of "great regret" that talks with the opposition aimed at defusing the current crisis had not produced results, she added.
posted by wnsworld @ 6:02 PM
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