Bangla protests called off, polls later

However, Hasina8217;s political rival and former prime minister Khaleda Zia and leaders of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party were absent, raising questions about its participation in elections.

Ahmed assumed office a day after the President imposed an emergency and quit as head of the caretaker government, bowing to pressure from the Awami League-led alliance that organised repeated strikes and blockades.

Immediately after the swearing in, the alliance of 17 parties8212;which had said it would boycott general elections if they were held under the supervision of President Iajuddin8212;announced it would not go ahead with nation-wide street protests to press for polls under a neutral administration.

The caretaker government also agreed to the alliance8217;s two other demands8212;that a correct voters8217; list would be prepared and elections would be postponed.

The Election Commission said it has stopped all activities linked to polls, which were earlier scheduled for January 22, and would wait for orders from the interim government.

Soon after proclamation of emergency on Thursday night the media came under curbs unprecedented since the restoration of democracy in 1991.

Security forces then raided houses of several political leaders. A former lawmaker of Sheikh Hasina Wajed8217;s Awami League Kamal Ahmed Majumder was arrested by the army at his home and handed over to the police, sources said today.

The sources said Brigadier AK Khan Latif replaced Major General Haider as the acting Director General of National Security Intelligence while the second most senior officer in the PGR replaced Sohel as the acting chief. Immediately after the state of emergency was proclaimed, private TV channels were asked to stop their news and talk shows as well as analytical programmes.

The print media was also asked not to publish any news critical of the government or its actions. Political news including about rallies, processions and related pictures, features, editorials, cartoons have also been banned, the sources said.

This is the first time such a censorship has been imposed on the press since 1991.

Meanwhile, the winner of last year8217;s Nobel Peace Prize, 8220;banker to the poor8221; Muhammad Yunus, said today he had turned down an offer to become the new head of Bangladesh8217;s interim government. 8220;I was offered to be the chief advisor, but I said no,8221; Yunus, who shared the award with his micro-credit pioneering Grameen Bank, told AFP.