International

Protest over Bill on Mujib portraits

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA March 23. Amid extraordinary security measures and angry protests, the Bangladesh Parliament passed a controversial Bill scrapping the law which called for the display of portraits of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in all public offices.

The Bill was passed in Parliament by a voice vote on Thursday even as police and para-military forces cracked down on leaders and activists of the main Opposition, Awami League, and used tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Bill. Awami League MPs, who have been boycotting Parliament, staged demonstration inside the parliament building against the "black law", which was an insult to Mujibur Rahman who was assassinated in 1975.

The Opposition MPs also paraded down parliament corridors wearing black badges and holding black flags. In protest against the unprecedented security measures put in place by the Government, 58 Awami League members threatened to resign from Parliament. Police cordoned off the residence of the Opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, who is away on an organisational

tour.

After the Bill was passed, the Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, proposed another Bill that would authorise the display of the portraits of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with her husband and former President, Gen. Ziaur Rahman and herself as head of government. The Awami League immediately rejected the proposal, saying it was not only "indecorous but also aimed at distorting the nation's independence history".

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