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Bangladesh govt cracks down on
'battling begums'
Bangladesh's military-backed
government has moved to sideline the
country's two chief political
dynasties, spearheaded by women
whose fierce rivalry has been called
the battle of the begums.
Sheikh Hasina, the main opposition
leader, was charged in the murder of
four people who were beaten to death
during political violence that
racked the nation's capital last
October.
At the same time, the government
severely curtailed the freedom of
former prime minister Khaleda Zia,
putting her under virtual house
arrest.
Hasina told the BBC the charges were
"fake and false" and pledged to
return from the United States, where
she is on holiday, to fight them.
There has been widespread media
speculation that the government is
seeking to force both Hasina, 60,
and Khaleda Zia, 61, whose family
dynasties have ruled the country
since independence in 1971, into
political exile.
"These actions mean the government
is now getting rid of the country's
two dynasties. They will have to go
and take a break from politics,"
Ataur Rahman, a political science
professor at Dhaka University, said.
"I think with a little persuasion,
it can easily send them abroad."
Bangladesh has been under emergency
rule since elections slated for
January were cancelled after months
of turmoil over allegations of poll
rigging.
Emergency rule has been popular
among Bangladeshis, who appear to be
in no hurry to return to destructive
political infighting.
Worn down after 16 years of often
brutal politics between Khaleda
Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party
and Hasina's Awami League, people
say they are happy to give the
temporary government time to clean
up politics before new polls.
The two women -- the word 'begum' is
an honorific Muslim title -- have
each held the premiership, are
related to assassinated former
leaders of Bangladesh and are said
to loathe each other.
In its sustained effort to root out
corruption, the government is
carrying out sweeping political
reforms before the elections and has
curbed freedom of speech and banned
politics.
At least 50 top politicians have
been arrested, including Khaleda
Zia's son Tareque Rahman.
The murder case against Hasina
followed a complaint by the Jamaat
Islami, the biggest Islamic party
and part of Khaleda Zia's four-party
government which handed over power
last October to a caretaker
administration as part of
preparations for the elections.
Police gave no details of the role
Hasina -- who heads the Awami League
and a 19-party opposition alliance
-- is accused of in the October 28
deaths.
At least 35 people were killed in
the unrest in the period from then
until January 11 when the president,
Iajuddin Ahmed, imposed emergency
rule.
Khaleda Zia's acting secretary, who
asked not to be named, said
Wednesday that the "intelligence
department" told guards at her house
that only four people could meet her
from now on and that she was not to
venture outside.
The four are her two brothers, a
personal physician and a former
member of parliament.
Shahidullah Chowdhury, who also
teaches politics at Dhaka
University, said "inefficient and
dishonest dynasty politics" was at
the heart of Bangladesh's troubles.
"The widespread perception among the
people and the government is that
the two begums were the main
stumbling blocks for our democracy,"
Chowdhury said.
Before the murder charge was laid,
Hasina's press secretary said that
she planned to cut short her US
visit and return home on April 14 to
fight claims of extortion which
police are investigating.
The allegations came from the
Bangladeshi chief of a
Malaysian-owned firm who accused her
of the extortion of 30 million taka
(434,000 dollars).
Last weekend, Hasina attacked the
government's decision to delay
elections for 18 months while on
Tuesday, Khaleda Zia warned that the
south Asian nation, which has known
long periods of military rule, was
at the crossroads.
--AFP
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