Dhaka, Feb 4: With the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition threatening to take head on the main opposition Awami League on the streets, the country is bracing for more violence.

BNP leaders said the party would stage counter demonstrations and rallies across the country against the frequent general strikes called by the opposition, damaging its image.

The decision to confront the opposition on the streets was taken at a meeting of the ruling coalition here Thursday, chaired by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is also the leader of the BNP, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The BNP and its coalition partners -- Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) and Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) -- will chalk out separate programmes to hold rallies on Monday, the leaders said.

"We have decided to observe programmes individually first and then go for united programmes," BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan said.

The meeting "deeply regretted" the postponement of the SAARC summit and blamed the Awami League for launching a campaign against holding of the summit by calling for a general strike coinciding with it.

The two-day summit, which was to start Sunday, was postponed after India refused to attend, citing security conditions in Dhaka and other developments in the region.

Asked whether the postponement of the summit would have a negative impact on India, one minister said: "We want to keep our existing relations intact and maintain friendly relations. If any misunderstanding is created, we prefer to remove that through discussion."

The leaders accused the Awami League of having persuaded the Indian leadership not to attend the summit.

"The Indian government apparently gave importance to a particular political party instead of regional cooperation and bilateral relations," Bhuiyan said, adding, "They (Awami League) convinced India not to come and join the summit."

He said the Awami League had always opposed holding of the summit in Dhaka and called the general strike to coincide with it. Although it was originally scheduled for January, the party had used the killing of former finance minister S.A.M.S. Kibria as an "excuse" to hold it during the summit, he added.

Bhuiyan said the reason cited by India - security considerations - for not attending the summit is "unacceptable" and added: "The government had taken unprecedented security measures and all preparations."

He also said that the death of Kibria was an "isolated incident" because the overall law and order across the country was quite normal for the last few months.

"The political crisis in Nepal is an internal matter and the security situation in Bangladesh is quite good," he claimed.

"The political crisis in Nepal is an internal matter and the security situation in Bangladesh is quite good," he claimed.

Accusing the Awami League of "hatching a conspiracy" to postpone the SAARC summit, he said the killing of Kibria is an isolated incident and did not mean that the government is unable to ensure security for a few guests, he said.
Courtesy Indo-Asian News Service