Bangladesh’s Parliament Shut Amid Strikes, Unrest

President Hussain Mohammed Ershad dissolved the Bangladesh Parliament on Sunday, almost a month after the opposition began a campaign of strikes and demonstrations to topple him.

The action was taken after a Cabinet meeting presided over by Ershad, a former army general.

Ershad’s Jatiya (National) Party held 213 seats in the 330-member Parliament elected May 7, 1986. The opposition accused the government of fraud in that balloting.

Ershad has offered to hold new parliamentary elections in an effort to halt the campaign for his own ouster, but the major opposition parties have continued to insist on his resignation.

Strike Planned Today

The opposition, led by the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has carried out a series of strikes and rallies since Nov. 10 to press its demand. Another strike was planned for today despite a Nov. 27 emergency decree banning political activity.

Today’s strike, if it comes off, would be the fourth dawn-to-dusk stoppage since Ershad declared the state of emergency.

The 10 members of Parliament from the Muslim fundamentalist party Jammat-e-Islami resigned Thursday, and an independent member quit Saturday, all saying they were protesting the lawmakers’ ineffectiveness.

There also were reports that the 76 members from the Awami League, the largest of the opposition parties in Parliament, might resign en masse.

It was not immediately clear if the dissolution of Parliament meant that Ershad plans new elections.

Outbreaks of violence have marked the campaign to oust Ershad. At least four people have been reported killed, and the government has said that more than 2,500 people have been arrested.

Opposition Leaders Held

Four weeks ago, the government placed under house arrest the chief opposition leaders, Sheik Hasina of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

In the past several days, however, several officials of opposition parties have been released.

A Cabinet minister said government officials had been discussing with the opposition a plan for ending the oust-Ershad campaign and holding early elections.

Ershad was a general when he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1982. In 1986, he staged two elections, one that gave his Jatiya Party a strong majority in Parliament and another that installed him in the presidency.