Bangladesh Govt. shakes up administration

By Our Special Correspondent

DHAKA, NOV. 10.The coalition Government of the Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, which completed 30 days in power on Friday, has brought in major changes in the civil, military and police administrations scrapping hundreds of contracts and appointments made by the previous Government.

The new Government has asked dozens of high-ranking civil and police officials to retire as they were considered close to the previous Government. The Government has declared Friday as the weekly holiday changing the earlier two-day weekly holiday. November 7 has been declared ``National Solidarity and Revolution Day''. It was on this day in 1975, nearly three months after the assassination of the country's founding hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then army chief, Gen. Ziaur Rahman, husband of Begum Khaleda Zia, entered politics.

The Khaleda Government has also suspended proceedings of all ``political cases'' against its leaders and workers filed during the tenure of the Awami League Government and withdrew criminal proceedings against the editor and publisher of The Inquilab, a mouthpiece for fundamentalists. Another significant step was the scrapping of the allotment of two government houses for Sheikh Hasina and her sister Rahena on security considerations by the past Government. One of the houses, Ganobhaban, has been re-named the ``Prime Minister's Residence''.

The new Government has also started withdrawing corruption cases against members of the BNP and its ally the Jamaat-e-Islami. Instead, corruption cases have been initiated against Awami League leaders. The Bureau of Anti-Corruption has formed two special committees to frame charges and file cases against Awami League leaders, Daily Star has reported.

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