Dhaka (AsiaNews) Political instability is rising in Bangladesh as tensions between the opposition and the government continue unappeased. Yesterday, a second general strike in four days left 150 injured in clashed between the police and protesters in Dhaka and various parts of the country.
Sunday's work action was spearheaded by the Awami League, the main opposition party, and other 13 parties that are part of an anti-government coalition. The capital was blocked and 35 people, including some political leaders and activists, were arrested.
The anti-riot squad used truncheons and tear gas against crowds in the streets; many cars and stores were torched. The transport system, offices, schools and industry were shut down on Sunday, a working day in Muslim countries.
The current protest comes on the heels of another general strike last Wednesday and Thursday. For months now, the opposition has been demanding current Prime Minister Khaleda Zia reform the electoral system ahead of next year's elections. In October the government is expected to hand over power to a transitional, unelected administration that will organise elections for January. But the opposition is convinced that the ruling coalition led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will cheat and wants parliament to appoint members to the transitional administration on the basis of a broad support.
Local analysts interviewed by AsiaNews said that the situation is not going to be settled any time soon. The opposition does not want tensions to de-escalate between now and the elections in order to score political points by discrediting the government, whilst the BNP is too closely tied to fundamentalist elements within its coalition who are opposed to any dialogue.
When the government recently proposed to discuss the transitional administration, the opposition agreed because public opinion was in favour, one analyst said. But there was a stumbling block: the government wanted members of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a group accused of collusion with terrorists, on the Bilateral Commission. The Awami League wanted them excluded as a precondition for joining; instead it demanded that only representatives from the main parties of the two opposing coalitions be appointed. For now, the government has refused to budge on the issue, leading some to fear that the impasse will continue. The BNP needs Jamaat-e-Islami to retain its parliamentary majority, the source told AsiaNews.
Demands on the government are economic as well as political. The opposition wants lower prices and better supplies of electrical power and diesel fuel to the countryside, where blackouts are frequent and affect especially irrigation.
At present, there seem to be no room for manoeuvre between the two sides. Without an agreement the opposition threatens to boycott the upcoming elections.
There is none the less a silver lining in the current crisis according to analysts: Bangladeshis' campaign for democracy and against terrorism and corruption. For instance, the press has highlighted how people have formed human chains or organised sit-ins to demand honesty from future local candidates.