Dozens more B'desh politicians held in anti-graft drive
06 Feb 2007 14:31:57 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds law advisers comments, more quotes) By Anis Ahmed DHAKA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Joint security forces led by the Bangladesh army have arrested more than 50 politicians including nine former ministers in a countrywide drive against corruption launched over the weekend, police and state media said on Tuesday. Salahuddin Ahmed, a former communications minister in the government of immediate past prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, was picked up from his home in Dhaka on Tuesday, the latest arrest in a campaign by the interim administration to clean up politics before general elections. Those arrested belong to Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as well as main rival Awami League, led by another former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. Most of the politicians have been jailed for one month under the Special Powers Act (SPA) under which they can held without being formally charged. The politicians were likely to face charges of corruption, involvement in anti-state and anti-people activities, and misuse of power to amass wealth, police said. Law and information adviser to the interim government, Mainul Husein told reporters on Tuesday the graft cases would be tried by special courts for speedy disposal. "Mere jailing of the corrupt politicians was not enough. The government should ensure they can never participate in elections," Oli Ahmed, leader of Liberal Democratic Party, a small party, said. The crackdown was ordered by the caretaker government, headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, as part of a campaign to hold free and fair elections in the impoverished nation of 140 million people. The election date has not yet been announced. The government also asked the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission and other officials to resign, paving the way for its reconstitution. Political parties and civil society have long been demanding reforms in the commission, saying it had failed to fight widespread graft. ANTI-GRAFT CONVENTION The government also decided to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in an effort to bring the country up to international governance standards, Foreign Ministry officials said. Bangladesh declared a state of emergency on Jan. 11. An election planned for January 22 was postponed after 45 people were killed and hundreds injured in countrywide violence. The interim authority is strongly backed by the powerful armed forces. Analysts said the armed forces preferred a behind-the-scenes role, rather than direct intervention, to help Bangladesh out of its confrontational political climate. Bangladesh was ruled by a former army general, Hossain Mohammad Ershad, from March 1982 when he seized power in a bloodless coup until he was toppled in a people's uprising headed by Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda in December 1990. (Additional reporting by Nizam Ahmed)
