Politics-Hasina Returns

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Ex-Bangladeshi Leader Returns Home
Monday, May 07, 2007

By JULHAS ALAM, Associated Press Writer

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been barred from returning to Bangladesh after she was accused of speaking against its military-backed interim government, arrived in the capital Monday, and thousands of supporters cheered, beat drums and sprinkled her with rosebuds.
"It's my country; it's my home. I'm so excited to be able to return to my country," Hasina said at Dhaka's Zia International Airport after arriving from London.
The government lifted a ban on Hasina's return on April 25, seven days after it barred her homecoming amid media reports that the government wanted to exile her.
Asked if she feared arrest, Hasina said the authorities "made a mistake in imposing the ban on my return. I don't think they are going to repeat that mistake."
Senior aides of Hasina greeted her at the tightly guarded airport with flowers.
Thousands of other supporters, many of them beating drums, lined the streets as a bulletproof jeep drive Hasina to her residence in downtown Dhaka.
Hasina waved to the cheering crowd, which sprinkled her with rosebuds along the 10-mile journey.
A bitter feud between two major political camps, one led by Hasina and another by immediate past Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, led to deadly street protests in October, forcing the interim president to cancel January elections and declare a state of emergency. At least 34 people died in the weeks of protests.
No new election date has been announced, but interim leader Fakhruddin Ahmed recently said in an address to the nation that he hoped the elections would be held before the end of 2008.
Authorities had accused Hasina of making "inflammatory statements" about the country's interim government while abroad, and warned that her return might create further confusion and incite divisions among the public.
Hasina, who held the office from 1996-2001, was charged with murder on April 11 while she was in the United States on a personal visit. The murder case stems from the deaths of four protesters in a riot in October.
Separately, a power plant businessman filed a case, accusing her of taking bribe to allow a power plant during her rule.
Hasina and her Awami League party have called the charges "farcical." She also has vowed to face the charges in court after her return.
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