Fifty injured in Bangladesh blockade

Activists and police clashed in Bangladesh yesterday, injuring at least 50 people at the start of a three-day transport blockade aimed at derailing upcoming general elections. Witnesses said police were also injured in the clashes in Shyamoli, a residential area of the capital, Dhaka. Police used teargas and rubber bullets against stone-throwing activists from a multi-party alliance set to boycott the elections on January 22.

Police detained 30 people in Shyamoli and other areas. Rail officials said protesters stopped trains at major junctions.

The country's political crisis deepened on Wednesday when the alliance led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, head of the Awami League, announced its boycott plan, accusing the interim government of favouring her opponents. The Jatiya Party of former army ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad and the Liberal Democratic Party led by former President A.Q.M. Badruddoza Chowdhury also decided to boycott the polls.

The alliance said the blockade was aimed at forcing President Iajuddin Ahmed to step down as head of the interim government and force the election commission to announce new poll schedules.

President Iajuddin, in a statement late on Saturday, said the vote could not be delayed because of constitutional constraints.

But an adviser to the interim government, Shafiqul Haque Chowdhury, said yesterday the President had asked his deputies to consult the rival political groups on a ballot delay.