Specific information on the activities of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Comilla District since the June 1996 elections is scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

However, the following information may be of interest.

Following the 12 June 1996 elections, Bangladesh's Election Commission ordered repolling for a number of seats throughout the country, including a third repolling in Comilla–3 constituency due to 19 June "voting irregularities" (AFP 20 June 1996; ibid. 19 June 1996). On 22 June 1996 the Comilla–3 seat was won by the Jatiya Party (JP), thereby giving it a total of 32 seats, the BNP 116, the Awami League (AL) 146; and three other parties and an independent won the remaining six seats (Xinhua 22 June 1996).

According to figures compiled by the Coordination Council for Human Rights in Bangladesh (CCHRB) and reported by the Dhaka-daily newspaper The Bangladesh Observer, 105 days of hartals [strikes] consisting of six country-wide and 99 local ones were observed in 1997 (31 Dec. 1997, 12). The BNP called five of the country-wide hartals–on 23 March, 3 July, 24 August, 25 September and 7 December (ibid.). Information from reports on hartals that specifically refer to Comilla is provided below:

On 23 March 1997 the city of Comilla was among other main cities to experience strike-related violence during the dawn-to-afternoon BNP-called general strike, which "shut businesses and kept transport off the roads" (Reuters 23 Mar. 1997; The Bangladesh Observer 31 Dec. 1997, 12).

In the 24 August 1997 dawn-to-dusk general strike protesting the fuel price hike, "pro-strike elements" created barricades to halt trains in a number of areas, including the districts of Comilla, Joypurhat, Dinajpur, Kushtia, Chittagong (Xinhua 24 Aug. 1997; The Bangladesh Observer 31 Dec. 1997).

According to the Banglabazar Patrika newspaper and reported by Agence France Presse (AFP), on 2 June 1997, approximately 30 BNP members "attacked" two dormitories of the Comilla Polytechnic Institute and fired weapons and threw bombs (AFP 5 June 1997). Abu Yusuf Khan was killed and approximately 25 people were wounded as a result (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 5 June 1997. "Ruling Party Activist Killed, 25 Injured in Bangladesh Campus Violence." (NEXIS)

_____. 20 June 1996. "Third Repolling Ordered in One Constituency–Wajed Short of Majority." (NEXIS)

_____. 19 June 1996. Nadeem Qadir. "Wajed Short by Four Seats of Absolute Majority." (NEXIS)

The Bangladesh Observer [Dhaka]. 31 December 1997. "'97 Makes Adieu With 105 Days of Hartals."

Reuters. 23 August 1997. BC Cycle. Anis Ahmed. "Police Detain Over 150 in Bangladesh Strike." (NEXIS)

Xinhua. 24 August 1997. "At Least 20 Bangladeshis Injured in General Strike." (NEXIS)

_____. 22 June 1996. "Repolling Closes in Bangladesh's Last Constituency." (NEXIS)

Research Directorate. International/Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. June 1996-present.

Resource Centre. "Bangladesh" country file. June 1996-present.

Electronic sources: Internet, IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS.