Bangladesh's main opposition Awami League (AL)-led 14-party leftist combine has planned a Dhaka Siege on June 11 to force the ruling-BNP government to do the reforms of caretaker government system and Election Commission (EC).

Abdul Jalil, general secretary of AL and coordinator of the combine said here on Saturday they will shut the capital, blocking all the entries to Dhaka on June 11.

Quoted as saying so by the private television channel Ntv Saturday, he said that the government has started to arrest the leaders and workers of the alliance en masse in a bid to undo the planned siege.

Jalil said the alliance will not go to polls due in January next year.

"We will also not allow the government to hold the elections without the reforms," he said.

He said if the government does not do the reform in the EC and remove the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and his two deputies whom the AL thinks are BNP men, they will try to oust the CEC and his deputies through Supreme Judicial Council.

Caretaker government supervises Bangladesh's general elections since 1996. The person, who will be the chief of the non-partisan caretaker government, is immediate past chief justice, the opposition also blamed him as a supporter of BNP-led four-party alliance government. This is why the opposition combine has been demanding reforms of the caretaker government system and the EC.

After exchanging of several letters, the ruling alliance agreed to sit for the reforms talks. The alliance formed a committee, in which a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the major partner of four- party government, was included. But the 14-party combine said they will not sit with the Jammat member as they opposed the country's liberation war.

The AL leaders said sitting with Jammat was equal to hold talks with Islamist extremist leaders of banned Jammat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), blamed for series of bomb blast and suicide attacks in the country.

Jalil said any obstruction to the June 11 siege will flare up their movement. He said they will go for vigorous programs like series of general strikes.

But the ruling BNP leaders have been saying since Jamaat is a major partner of their alliance, they cannot keep the party from the reforms talks.

BNP Secretary General Mannan Bhuiyan , who is also a minister, urged the opposition alliance to sit at the table for reforms talks because time is running out.

He said the BNP-led government will hand over power to the caretaker government and the caretaker government will not have the right to do any reforms. The government will just supervise the national elections.

The BNP-led government is approaching to end its tenure in October this year. But political observers here do not see any quick end to the impasse in the reforms talks as both sides are sticking to their standpoints.

Source: Xinhua