COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION BULLETIN • Declaration of a State of Emergency on 11 January 2007 • Postponement of the General Election scheduled to take place on 22 January 2007

16 JANUARY 2007

Bulletin No: Bangladesh 1:2007

RDS-IND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE

16 JANUARY 2007 BANGLADESH

Preface i This Country of Origin Information Bulletin (COI Bulletin) has been produced by Research Development and Statistics (RDS), Home Office, from information obtained from a wide variety of recognised sources. It does not contain any Home Office opinion or policy. ii This COI Bulletin has been prepared for background purposes for those involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. The information it contains is not exhaustive. iii The COI Bulletin is sourced throughout. It is intended to be used by caseworkers as a signpost to the source material, which has been made available to them. iv This COI Bulletin is intended to give a brief overview of events in Bangladesh during the period 11-14 January 2007. It should be read in conjunction with existing COI products on Bangladesh. The COI Bulletin only includes reports considered to be relevant to those involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. v This COI Bulletin and the accompanying source material are publicly disclosable. Where sources identified in the COI Bulletin are available in electronic form the relevant link has been included.

This Country of Origin Information Bulletin contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 16 January 2007 1 BANGLADESH 16 JANUARY 2007

Political developments: 11 – 14 January 2007

1.1 On Thursday 11 January 2007 President proclaimed a state of emergency in Bangladesh under Article 141 of the Constitution, amid a growing political crisis over the general election scheduled to take place on 22 January. [3a] The President’s office stated that there was a “grave emergency in the country, threatening public security and (the) economy”. [4] The issuance of the proclamation effectively suspended the operation of Articles 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 42 of the Constitution, which provide for freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom of thought, conscience and speech, freedom of profession or occupation and property rights. A curfew was imposed in Dhaka and 60 other cities and towns between the hours 11pm and 5am. [1a]

1.2 The President also announced the postponement of the general election for an unspecified period, to allow time for errors in the voter list to be rectified and to ensure that the elections would be “free, fair and credible”. This announcement was welcomed by the and other ‘opposition’ parties, who had been staging mass demonstrations and had promised to boycott the election if it went ahead as planned. [1b] President Ahmed further announced his resignation from the post of Chief Advisor to the interim Caretaker Government, which had taken power on 29 October 2006 for the period leading up to the general election. Nine of the ten other advisers also resigned from the Caretaker Government. [3a][1a] Mr Justice was initially named to lead the Caretaker Government; however, following a consensus between the two major political alliances, Dr – a former Governor of the Bangladesh Bank – was appointed the new Chief Advisor and was sworn in on 12 January. [3b] Five new advisers were appointed the following day. [3f] The night-time curfew was withdrawn on 13 January. [2]

1.3 The Emergency Power Ordinance 2007 was proclaimed on 12 January 2007 and will remain in force for the period of the state of emergency. Under the ordinance, power has been given to the relevant authorities to restrict any activities deemed to be ‘subversive to the state’, or ‘hampering the relations of Bangladesh with foreign countries’, or ‘disrupting peace in any part of the country or creating enmity, hatred, or confrontations among different sections of society’. The government may suspend the activities of all political parties, trade unions, clubs and associations and ban any industrial strike or lockout. Publication of any newspaper, book, document or paper, or broadcasting any news or information deemed detrimental to public safety, can be banned. The Ordinance will empower the government to arrest or detain any person or restrict the entry, living, stay or movement of any person, in order to prevent activity deemed to be ‘harmful to the relations with any foreign country or in the public interest’. The government can also control or disrupt or block any message or news through the postal service, radio, telegram, telex, fax, internet or telephone. The legality of orders to be proclaimed under the authority of the Ordinance cannot be challenged in a court of law. [3c] Police and other security agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion, will continue to operate under the Interior Ministry, now under the control of the interim Caretaker Government. The Election Commission also remains responsible to the Caretaker Government. [5]

2 This Country of Origin Information Bulletin contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as 16 January 2006.

16 JANUARY 2007 BANGLADESH

1.4 The Daily Star of Bangladesh reported on 14 January that the government was “formulating rules to impose a ban on the activities of political parties” during the state of emergency, and had also started preparing rules for censorship of the media. [3d]

1.5 According to an Associated Press article of 14 January, more than 4,000 people had been detained since the imposition of the state of emergency. The government was quoted as saying that ‘disruptive elements’ would continue to be arrested until a new election was held. Local news reports indicated that those detained were from both sides of the dispute over the elections. [5]

1.6 Abdul Jalil, a spokesman for the political alliance led by the Awami League, called for new elections to be held as soon as possible, subject to the Election Commission being reconstituted, the voter’s list being updated and corrected, and the removal of disputed election officials. Former Prime Minister ’s BNP-led coalition was also said to be in favour of an election at the earliest possible date. [5] However, according to a BBC News video report of 16 January 2007, the Caretaker Government has said that it could take ‘months’ to prepare for new elections. [1d]

BACKGROUND

2.1 On 10 January 2007 , leader of the Awami League-led party alliance, had announced to a rally of 100,000 supporters a renewed programme of general strikes and countrywide blockades in an effort to force the interim government to call off the January 22nd general election. [3e][6] This followed months of mass demonstrations which at times had brought the country to a standstill; over 40 people had been killed in violent clashes between rival political groupings and the police. [1a][1c] The AL-led alliance announced that it would boycott the election on the basis that it would not be fair. [1a] There were allegations of unfairness and partiality among appointed election officials. A study by the U.S. National Democratic Institute had apparently found 13 million more names on the voter’s list than would be eligible according to Bangladesh’s population; election officials had, in spite of repeated urging, failed to correct the list. There had also been allegations that many eligible voters from minority religious communities had been left out of the registration process. [7]

2.2 According to the Daily Star, President Iajuddin Ahmed had acted unilaterally and controversially on several occasions since assuming the role of Chief Advisor on 29 October 2006, including appointing an election commissioner who was not seen as neutral, deploying the armed forces and being adamant about holding the general election on 22 January, even without the participation of all major political parties. [3b] On 11 January, however, the majority of his advisors on the Caretaker Government said they would not support a decision to go ahead with the election on 22 January. [6]

This Country of Origin Information Bulletin contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 16 January 2007 3 BANGLADESH 16 JANUARY 2007

References to Source Material

[1] BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/ (Accessed 11 and 15 January 2007) a Bangladesh poll delay emergency: 11 January 2007 b Q & A: Bangladesh in political crisis: 12 January 2007 c Troops enforce Bangladesh order: 12 January 2007 d ‘Months’ before Bangladesh poll: 16 January 2007

[2] United News of Bangladesh (via LexisNexis) (Accessed 15 January 2007) Nighttime curfew withdrawn: 13 January 2007

[3] The Daily Star, Bangladesh http://www.thedailystar.net/archive.htm (Accessed 15 January 2007) a Emergency declared; Iajuddin quits as chief advisor: 12 January 2007 b Fakhruddin new CA: 13 January 2007 c Emergency ordinance promulgated: 14 January 2007 d Rules underway to ban political activities during emergency: 14 January 2007 e Hasina declares tougher actions: 11 January 2007 f Five advisers sworn in: 14 January 2007

[4] The Guardian, London (via LexisNexis) (Accessed 15 January 2007) Bangladeshi poll postponed after interim leader resigns: 12 January 2007

[5] Associated Press (via LexisNexis) (Accessed 15 January 2007) New Bangladesh leader takes control of security agencies as mass arrests continue: 14 January 2007

[6] Financial Times (website) (Accessed 15 January 2007) www.ft.com Bangladesh postpones elections: 12 January 2007

[7] US Commission on International Religious Freedom http://www.uscirf.gov/ Bangladesh: Decision to Postpone Election Offers a Second Chance: 12 January 2007

4 This Country of Origin Information Bulletin contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as 16 January 2006.