Bangladeshi authorities detained over 700 opposition activists trying to gather in the capital in defiance of a ban on a protest march called on Sunday by the BNP to derail the January 5 polls.
The country was today under virtual siege as transport services shut down overnight following a government advisory and people braced for fresh political violence. Army and paramilitary personnel patrolled city streets amidst the tense face-off between the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance and the Awami league. Police raided homes of opposition supporters and trains and took into custody more than 700 activists, police officials told the media.
Reports said activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami began moving towards Dhaka yesterday evening, well ahead of the march in order to avoid interception by police.
They planned to reach Dhaka under cover of wedding parties as many marriages are set to take place in the capital on the weekend.
BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir accused the Awami league-led interim government of creating a blockade to prevent the opposition activists gathering in Dhaka. "It seems like section 144 has been imposed countrywide, an undeclared shutdown by the government itself," he said. law enforcement officials were intimidating people in hotels and restaurants and tracking down protesters from outside Dhaka, Alamgir claimed.
At least 97 passengers were taken off a Dhaka-bound train in Tangail after policemen searched it for Islamists accused of attacking police in recent months. All Dhaka-bound trains from northern districts were halted at Tangail. BNP chief Khaleda Zia exhorted her supporters to rally in the capital Dhaka tomorrow and to defy the ban on her "march for democracy". "I urge all able bodied countrymen cutting across their affiliation, religion and class to join the rally on December 29," she said earlier, warning of "tougher actions" if the government obstructs the marchers.
There was doubt whether Zia would be able to take part in tomorrow's protest, with supporters alleging that authorities were keeping her under de-facto house arrest. The BNP is boycotting the polls and political violence during nationwide strikes and blockades enforced by the opposition have left nearly 130 people dead and crippled the economy since November.