Bangladesh Leader Declares State of Emergency (original) (raw)
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- Jan. 11, 2007
NEW DELHI, Friday, Jan. 12 — The president of Bangladesh declared a state of emergency Thursday evening, suspending certain fundamental rights, imposing a nighttime curfew, and effectively postponing elections that were scheduled to be held in less than two weeks. He then resigned as the head of the caretaker government entrusted to run the polls, though he remains chief of state.
An alliance of political parties had threatened to boycott those elections, scheduled for Jan. 22. And in the last few days, as the nation of 140 million people sank deeper into political violence, international backing for elections has eroded away.
President Iajuddin Ahmed said in a televised address in late on Thursday that it was impossible to hold elections on the scheduled date that would be acceptable to all parties.
In his speech, he referred specifically to the contention that the voting rolls had been stuffed with 14 million bogus names, one of the main grounds cited for the boycott.
“We need a flawless voter list to ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible,” Mr. Ahmed said, according to an Associated Press account of his speech.
He had previously insisted that he could not postpone the voting, as the opposition parties have demanded, because the constitution requires an election within 90 days of the resignation of a sitting government and appointment of a caretaker government. That took place in October 2006.
The president’s emergency declaration paves the way for the army to take control of law and order throughout the country, and it imposes new restrictions on the news media. Such measures have not been taken in Bangladesh since the restoration of democracy in 1991 after years of military rule.
Mr. Ahmed said in his speech that an advisory council would be appointed in the next few days. He did not give a new date for the elections, which he said the council will conduct.
The state news agency reported that Mr. Ahmed saw his resignation as head of government as “essential to keep the economy going and maintain law and order.”
The emergency declaration came a few hours after the United Nations suspended its technical support for the Jan. 22 elections, saying that the voting would not be “considered credible or legitimate.” Two teams of American election observers have withdrawn in recent days, and the European Union said that its team would not be sent as planned.
The alliance of political parties led by the Awami League, the main opposition party under the former government, said this week that beyond its planned boycott of the elections, it would “resist” them, which Bengalis understood to be a veiled threat of violence.
Before the president’s speech on Thursday, the British Foreign Office urged compromise so that “credible, peaceful and universally accepted” elections could be held.
But the clashes between police and political groups in recent days appeared to portend further violence before the voting.
The country’s two main leaders, Sheikh Hasina Wazed of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have been contending with one another for power since democracy was restored.
Each party has spent time in power, and each has turned to using parliamentary boycotts, mass demonstrations and strikes while in opposition, giving the country a reputation for tumultuous, violent politics. Mrs. Zia’s party was in power most recently.
The bone of contention now is the way the elections are being run. The Awami League says the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has stacked the Election Commission with partisans and has stuffed the voting rolls, and has accused President Ahmed of siding with Mrs. Zia’s party in resisting a postponement.
Critics of the caretaker government have pressed the president to be more flexible and, for the sake of neutrality, to refer the question of whether the election can be delayed to the country’s Supreme Court.
“The constitution is not the Koran in that it can’t be changed,” said Syed Manzur Elahi, a prominent businessman and a member of two previous caretaker governments, in a telephone interview from Dhaka, the capital.
Mr. Elahi cautioned against military rule. “As it is, we have an image problem,” he said. “This will multiply the problem.”
The new Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, also warned against military rule, saying it could cost Bangladesh the opportunity to participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Bangladesh regularly contributes significant numbers of troops to the operations, and receives financial aid for doing so.
“Should the 22 January parliamentary elections proceed without participation of all major political parties, deployment of the armed forces in support of the election process raises questions,” Mr. Ban said in a statement. “This may have implications for Bangladesh’s future role.”
Reuters reported that Mrs. Hasina was not greatly concerned about the emergency decree. “We are not afraid,” the news agency quoted her as saying. “We will declare a new action program after assessing the situation.”
Julfikar Ali Manik contributed reporting from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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