BANGLADESH

President Zillur Rahman has urged the opposition to return to parliament.

"Place all your (opposition) proposals and complaints in parliament. It will enrich democracy," he said on the opening day of the 12th session of the ninth parliament on Wednesday.

The session, the first this year, started at 3pm amidst continued boycott by the opposition lawmakers.

Parliament leader and prime minister Sheikh Hasina was present on the first day of the session.

The main opposition has been saying it will not join parliament without revival of the caretaker government system, which was annulled through the 15th Amendment to the constitution

Zillur, however, thanked the government for the amendment.

"The spirit of the 1972 charter has been revived through it…the four fundamental principles have also been re-established."

The president expressed his hope that trial of war criminals and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutineers will be completed soon.

"With respect to international laws and norms, laws to try war crimes have been passed. I hope the trial of war criminals will finish soon," he said.
"Those tied with the killings in BDR headquarters at Pilkhana will also be punished properly, I hope," he said.

After his speech concluded, speaker Abdul Hamid adjourned the session until Sunday.

Apart from Awami League MPs, JaSad president Hasanul Haque Inu and Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon attended the session.

Jatiya Party MPs, except chairman Hussein Muhammad Ershad, were also present in the House.

Five new woman MPs – A N Mahfuza Khatun Baby Maudud, Fazilatunnesa Indira, Pinu Khan, Hasina Mannan and Fazilatunnesa Bappy – took part in the proceedings on the opening session of the session. It is their first session.