& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Hasina ready to shun hartal on condition

Staff Correspondent
Main opposition Awami League (AL) will consider scrapping hartal as a means of protest campaign if the ruling parties give an undertaking not to call hartal while in the opposition in the future.
AL President Sheikh Hasina said this while leaders of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) yesterday met her with a request not to call hartal at least for the next one year to help the sector deal with the post-Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) situation.
Replying to the BGMEA's request Sheikh Hasina said first the government will have to stop the political oppression that includes
widespread violence and false cases against opposition leaders and workers. She also demanded all false political cases be withdrawn and perpetrators of the political repression be brought to trial.
The BGMEA leaders also requested the AL president to withdraw the daylong hartal slated for June 30, last day of the current fiscal year. Hasina said she would discuss the matter with her party's front organisations that called the hartal.
Hasina, also the leader of the opposition, said her party never wanted to resort to hartal, but the way the government repressed AL and curtailed its democratic rights, it has left AL with no other alternative but Hartal.
During the meeting Hasina also referred to her call when she was in power not to call hartal anymore. But it was ironic, she said, that the then main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) replied to the proposal by calling more and more hartals.
AL's Industries and Commerce Affairs Secretary Faruk Khan told these while briefing the reporters after the meeting.
Emerging from the more then two hours long close door meeting at AL's Dhanmondi office, BGMEA President Anisul Huq told reporters, "Garments industries would be benefited if there is no hartal at least for one year."
Huq said, "We have discussed the situation of our industry and talked in details about issues like central bonded warehouse and rules of origin."
He said they have urged the opposition leader to discuss the issues relating to problems of garment industries in parliament.
"We've always longed for an improvement in law and order that would cater for smooth business environment," Huq said adding that deteriorating law and order hampers business severely.
Faruk Khan told reporters that the AL has asked the BGMEA leaders to raise the points AL made about hartal to the government.
Khan said if the government fulfills their demand, AL would consider leaving out hartal from its anti-government agitation programme.
AL's presidium and central leaders were present at the meeting.