Bangladesh has arrested two senior opposition party leaders ahead of a huge anti-government rally in the nation’s capital Saturday and after political violence that drew a rare high-profile statement from the White House.
At least one man was killed and scores were injured when violence broke out Wednesday as police clashed with a big crowd of supporters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party outside its headquarters in Dhaka, officials and activists said.
Police have arrested hundreds of Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders, field-level organizers, and other members of the opposition party in the past five days ahead of a massive rally it plans to hold in Dhaka next weekend, BNP officials alleged Monday.
Senior officials from Bangladesh’s government are sternly warning ambassadors from major donor nations not to cross a line or interfere with the nation’s politics by airing concerns about the integrity of the vote here.
Bangladesh’s main opposition party is holding weekly protest rallies drawing tens of thousands of people who are demanding that a “neutral” caretaker administration be set up to oversee the next general election in order to guarantee a free and fair vote.
Bangladeshis say they are suffering from inflated costs for food and gas after the government imposed a steep hike on fuel prices last week, an overnight move that has deepened economic discontent and spurred street protests in the South Asian nation
Awami officials and the Bangladesh Election Commission rejected the criticism, saying that the introduction of electronic voting machines for the first time in the city polls made it impossible to manipulate the vote