Thirty hurt in violence over fundamentalist rally

Reuters/October 21, 1994

Rajshahi, Bangladesh -- At least 30 people were injured in sporadic clashes during attempts by anti-fundamentalist groups to disrupt an Islamic rally in the northern Bangladesh town of Rajshahi, police said on Friday.

They said fighting erupted after anti-fundamentalist groups urged Rajshahi residents not to attend a rally addressed by the leader of the Jamaat-E-Islami, Golam Azam, known for his opposition to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Jamaat responded by attempting to turn the rally into a massive show of strength, one police officer said.

Militant Jamaatis set fire to the local office of the main opposition Awami League and burnt national flags, witnesses said.

Local journalists said hundreds of Jamaatis took control of strategic areas in the city centre late on Thursday.

Jamaat's foes had called for a day-long strike at Rajshahi on Friday in an attempt to frustrate its supporters.

The strike drove vehicles off the streets while offices and schools closed for the weekend, residents said.

Nearly a dozen people were injured in clashes between opposing groups in the city on Thursday, police told reporters.

Thousands of Awami activists demonstrated in Rajshahi on Friday night, calling for exemplary punishment for Jamaat's alleged ``anti-state'' activities.

Azam, 72, told the rally he would devote the rest of his life to establishing Islam ``fully'' in Bangladesh's society and politics.

``I have made many enemies by trying to establish Islam in every spheres of our life. But I will not be cowered nor will desist from my mission,'' he told some 15,000 triumphant supporters.

Jamaat is an ally of the Awami League in its bid to force the government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to step down and hold early elections under a caretaker administration.

It was still not known if the Rajshshi violence would have any impact on their relationship, opposition sources said.