Security tight for Bangladesh ex-PMs as poll nears
23 Dec 2008 19:51:51 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds bomb found, details) By Anis Ahmed DHAKA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Police have tightened security for former Bangladeshi prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia in the run-up to Dec. 29 parliamentary elections aimed at returning democracy to the South Asian country. Police have asked Hasina to stop lowering the windows of her bullet-proof SUV to wave at crowds on the road, security officials said on Tuesday. Both women have hit the campaign trail with personal armed guards and military commandoes at their sides. But the focus was more on Hasina after local media quoted an Indian television channel saying Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami militants had set up a suicide squad to kill her. Home Ministry officials would not confirm or deny the report, but said they believed Hasina would be safe. "Inshallah (God willing), nothing will happen to her," said retired major-general M.A. Matin, home affairs adviser (minister) for the military-backed interim government due to step down after the December vote. Bangladesh has deployed army troops deployed around the country to try to maintain law and order until the vote is over. Political analysts and diplomats hope the election will mark a return to democracy after two years of emergency rule. A stable, democratically elected civilian government could help attract much needed foreign investment and aid to Bangladesh, whose history has been marked by frequent turmoil. Previous polls in the poor nation of more than 140 million people were marred by violence and fraud, though the government says it will make sure this one is peaceful and credible. Islamist militants tried to kill Hasina twice before. In 2002, they planted explosives at a meeting venue. In 2004, they threw grenades at a Dhaka rally, killing 23 people and wounded some 150. Hasina survived with partial loss of hearing. GRENADES SEIZED Hasina told an election rally on Monday she was not afraid of death, "as I have been haunted by death throughout my life." Separately, members of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) seized four live grenades from suspected militants near a highway shortly after Khaleda's motorcade drove through, following her address to a campaign rally near Chandina, a small town 75 km (50 miles) south of the capital Dhaka. At her next stop, Khaleda said her life was at risk ahead of the election. "There is a conspiracy to kill me," she said, without naming anyone. RAB chief Hasan Mahmud Khoandoker said three people were detained when the grenades were seized. RAB forces chasing a group of suspects also recovered a 10-kg bomb with a timing device from a school building in a nearby village, police said. The militants hurled two grenades at RAB officers, which did not explode. The RAB opened fire in self-defence, wounding one suspect, police said. Police told reporters those detained were believed to be members of outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen extremist group, but this could not be confirmed independently. They said a search for militants and explosives continued until late evening, after intelligence reports warned of more attacks or sabotage on the election eve. Khaleda supporters staged street protests in Dhaka and other cities against what they called a "possible attempt on her life", while her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called for more protests on Wednesday. Hasina ruled Bangladesh for five years until 2001 while Khaleda served two five-year terms, with her second ending in October 2006. (For a TAKEALOOK on the Bangladesh election click on [ID:nSP347930] ) (Additional reporting by Azad Majumder; Editing by Katie Nguyen)
The domes of the Taj Mahal hotel and the historic Gateway of India (L) are seen in front of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai December 22, 2008. The hotel, which was ...
