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September 16, 2007
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Sunday
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Ramazan 03, 1428
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BD leader rules out army’s role in politics
DHAKA, Sept 15: The head of Bangladesh’s military-backed government says the country’s powerful army does not have any political ambitions and is only interested in improving law and order.
Bangladesh’s army is widely seen as having orchestrated the events that led to the installation of the emergency government which marked eight months in office earlier this week.
Interim government chief Fakhruddin Ahmed said there was “no dual rule in the country,” according to a transcript of the leader’s interview with BBC Bangla Radio late on Friday.
“The army is assisting the government as per the law of the land and they are playing an important role in the drive against corruption, improving law and order and flood relief activities,” he said.
“I don’t think these activities have manifested their (the military’s) political role,” said Ahmed, a former central bank governor who also served with the World Bank.
Ahmed said, however, the government was discussing forming a national security council. But he did not state how much power the council would have or who would be its members.
“We’re thinking about this. But no final decision has been taken,” he said.
Democracy was suspended in Bangladesh on Jan 11 when President Iajuddin Ahmed imposed a state of emergency and cancelled elections amid spiralling violence over vote-rigging allegations.
The emergency government took over the next day and has vowed to clean up Bangladesh’s notoriously corrupt politics before holding rescheduled elections by late 2008.
In February, it launched a massive corruption crackdown that has seen at least 160 high-profile figures arrested.
They include two former prime ministers, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed, largely blamed for widespread corruption, during their 16 years of democratic rule. The government leader ruled out any immediate end to emergency rule.
The government has allowed political parties to hold meeting in halls, homes and party offices. However, it still has not lifted a ban on outdoor rallies.—AFP
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