BANGLADESH

Schools and businesses have been shut in the capital and elsewhere as the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its key allies have enforced an 11-hour general strike across the country to protest mainly against recent hikes in fuel prices.

No violence was reported immediately after the strike began at 6 am on Thursday.

Trading at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), however, began as usual.

Thousands of police were deployed to prevent any untoward incidents in Dhaka, a city of more than 10 million people. Traffic was light on the usually-clogged streets of Dhaka.

Transportation to and from Dhaka was largely disrupted, but some buses are plying the streets inside the city. Rickshaws dominated the streets.

Train and launch services were normal.

It was not an easy day for BNP and its allies.

There was no major procession in support of the strike and the party headquarters of the main opposition at Naya Paltan was cordoned off.

Police installed barbed-wire fences to prevent the activists from entering the office.

A group of BNP leaders led by the party's standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan and acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir took position in front of the party headquarters from around 8am. The party's joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Dhaka city member secretary Abdus Salam, and others were also there.

Water cannons and riot cars of police remained standby near the party office.

The Naya Paltan road was empty with traffic taking other roads.

Mirza Fakhrul was unhappy over the cordoning off the party headquarters by police and accused the government of disrupting their 'peaceful' protest.

From a sit-in protest in front of the Naya Paltan office, Fakhrul said despite the government's tough measures, the people were successfully enforcing the strike.

Still, he aired frustration.

"We have been boxed-in. See how the police have cordoned off. There is no example of law enforcers in any democratic country barring activists and general people from coming to the opposition office in such manner," he said.

Fakhrul said police arrested more than 300 party activists before the strike.

"Law enforcers raided homes of many of our activists and misbehaved with their family members," he said.

He refuted the claims by the government ministers that the strike was meant to disrupt proceedings of the war crimes trials.

"Their claim is wrong. They are trying to deceive the government as a cover-up of the people's sufferings to create issues with such claims," he said.

BNP has enforced the strike despite the call by businesses that dialogue should be the means of resolving any dispute, not an extreme measure like calling general strike that hurts the country's economy.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the apex trade body, said in a statement on Wednesday that it would not support the strike for the sake of the economy.

The Dhaka Chambers of Commerce and Industries (DCCI) also opposed the strike.

DCCI said the economy is already in a bad shape because of a poor supply of gas and energy, high interest rate, inflation, infrastructure bottlenecks and a volatile share market.

It said a general strike would further hinder economic growth.

Authorities have put a tight security in place as Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have warned against anarchy.

DMP in a media statement issued on Wednesday said 'miscreants' could try to terrorise the people' by arson and vandalism during and on the eve of the shutdown.

There was no procession by the opposition activists during the beginning hours of the strike apparently for the government's measures that mobile courts would deliver quick justice in case of any violence on the streets in the name of protests.

Home minister Shahara Khatun on Wednesday said that mobile courts would be deployed during Thursday's nationwide general strike to deliver quick justice to any offenders.

The home minister also said that law enforcers will remain alert to avoid any untoward incidents during the strike.

The opposition called the strike to protest against the increase in fuel prices, soaring prices of daily commodities, deteriorating law and order, the government's failure to tackle the capital market, and detention of opposition activists.

The party's allies Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Liberal Democratic Party and Islami Oikya Jote have extended their support to the strike.

Senior cabinet minister Syed Ashraful Islam said on Wednesday that opposition leader Khaleda Zia gave the call for Thursday's general strike following pressure by Jamaat-e-Islami on a section of the BNP, and many of its policymakers had no support for the strike.

Jamaat is desperate to protect its senior leaders including the party chief Matiur Rahman Nizami facing charges of crimes against humanity involving 1971 war.

On Thursday, ruling Awami League's student wing Chhatra League's Dhaka University (DU) unit brought out a procession protesting the strike while there was no programme by pro-BNP Chhatra Dal.

Meanwhile, police arrested three people including DU Chhatra Dal leader Qazi Golam Moktadir from Ramna Park around 8am.

"They were trying to bring out a procession to hamper law and order," Shahbagh Police Station officer-in-charge Rezaul Karim told reporters.

The other arrestees were Dhaka College students Mizanur Rahman Mintu and Abu Sayeed.

There was no news of disturbance so far in other districts outside the capital.

Auto-rickshaw, human haulers and rickshaws were dominating the roads in district towns.