Dhaka, Bangladesh - Riot police used batons on Saturday to disperse thousands of stone-throwing protesters during a general strike called to press for the release of opposition members arrested in earlier clashes. Several people were injured, witnesses said.

Violence erupted after about 2 000 demonstrators tried to push over barbed-wire barricades police had set up on streets near the Dhaka headquarters of the opposition Awami League party, which called for the strike.

The barricades were intended to prevent the demonstrators from marching through the streets as they usually do during such protests.

Authorities had deployed extra security forces across Bangladesh's cities and towns fearing violence during the strike.

The cost of living increased by 11 percent last year

The strike - the second such protest in three days - shut down schools and shops and halted most traffic in Dhaka, the city of 10 million people. Saturday is a working day in largely Muslim Bangladesh.

The opposition party has been boycotting Parliament since last year, and has waged a campaign of demonstrations and strikes to protest price hikes, rising crime and alleged harassment of the government's political opponents.

Police have acknowledge that gang-related crimes, murders and extortion increased in 2003 from the previous year, but have given no figures. Media reports have said 3 450 murders took place in Bangladesh last year, up from 2 500 in 2002.

The cost of living increased by 11 percent last year, according to the Consumer Association of Bangladesh.

General strikes, in which political parties urge people to stay home, are a common form of protest in this impoverished south Asian nation.

Authorities had deployed extra security forces across Bangladesh's cities

In Thursday's protest, riot police used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of stone-throwing protesters, injuring about 50 people, including two leaders of the Awami League - which also called that strike.

Police said they arrested about 100 demonstrators on charges of rioting.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia denounced the strike as an opposition ploy to create political unrest. - Sapa-AP

Published on the Web by IOL on 2004-02-14 08:27:03