|
DHAKA: Thousands of
protesters firebombed polling stations and stole ballot papers as deadly
violence flared across Bangladesh on Sunday during a walkover election
boycotted by the opposition.
Police said at least 11 people had been killed since late Saturday and more
than 200 polling stations were set on fire or trashed by mobs in a bid by
the opposition to wreck the one-sided contest.
Two of those killed were beaten to death while guarding polling stations in
northern districts which bore the brunt of the violence and are regarded as
opposition strongholds. "We've seen thousands of protesters attack polling booths and our
personnel at a number of locations with Molotov cocktails and petrol
bombs," Syed Abu Sayem, police chief of the northern Bogra district,
told AFP.
"The situation is extremely volatile," he added after describing
how thousands of ballot papers had been ceremoniously set on fire. Most of the other victims were opposition activists who were shot by
police, while a driver died of his injuries from a Molotov cocktail attack
on his truck. "We were forced to open fire after thousands of them attacked us with
guns and small bombs," said Mokbul Hossain, police chief in the
northern Parbatipur town. "It was a coordinated attack. They managed to seize some ballot papers
and they were also trying to steal our weapons." In the capital, police confirmed at least two petrol bomb attacks on Dhaka
polling stations.
Tens of thousands of troops were deployed across the country after around
150 people had been killed in the build-up, but they failed to stem the
bloodshed. The ruling Awami League has accused the main opposition Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP) of orchestrating the violence, and has kept its
leader under de facto house arrest.
With the opposition trying to enforce a general strike as part of a
strategy to wreck the polls, officials admit turnout could be worse than
the previous low of 26 percent in a rigged 1996 election.
AFP correspondents said there were no queues to vote, while local
television reported that only a single person voted in the first three
hours at one station.
The outcome of the contest is not in doubt as voting is taking place in
only 147 of the 300 parliamentary constituencies. Awami League candidates
or allies have a clear run in the remaining 153.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government says it had to hold the vote
after parliament's five-year term expired. "Yes, the festive mood is missing but this election is essential to
ensure constitutional continuity," deputy law minister Quamrul Islam
told AFP.
The BNP, the largest of 21 parties who are refusing to take part, has
called them a "scandalous farce".
Its leader Khaleda Zia has been confined to her home for the last week,
with riot police and water cannon posted outside her Dhaka residence. Those who did vote showed little enthusiasm. "I don't really want to
vote as I don't think it's a proper election with only the ruling party
candidates participating," Anwar Hossain said outside a polling
station in Dhaka's Azimpur neighbourhood. "But I am scared about what might happen if I don't as the candidates
might think I am anti-Awami League."
Shopkeeper Niyamat Ullah said it was a pointless exercise. "I am not
going to vote," he told AFP. "What kind of election is it when
there's only a handful of voters at the polling centre and the two
candidates are from the same party?" With the opposition charging that the election lacks credibility, analysts
warn it will likely fuel violence after the bloodiest year of unrest since
Bangladesh broke free from Pakistan in 1971.
The former East Pakistan is the world's eighth most populous nation but
also one of the poorest in Asia, and more turmoil will undermine efforts to
improve the lot of its population of 154 million -- a third of whom live
below the poverty line. Zia says any polls overseen by her arch enemy Hasina will not be fair,
calling instead for them to be organised by a neutral caretaker government.
A local rights group says more than 500 people have been killed since
January 2013, including victims of clashes that erupted after the
conviction of leading Islamists for crimes dating back to the 1971 war.
The main Islamist party has been banned by the courts from taking part in
the election, and its leaders are either in detention or have gone into
hiding. Alarmed by the violence, the United States, European Union and Commonwealth
all declined to send observers. Bangladesh has been plagued by instability since independence, with nearly
20 coups since 1975.
|
അഭിപ്രായങ്ങളൊന്നുമില്ല:
ഒരു അഭിപ്രായം പോസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്യൂ