Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed has fired two top security chiefs and removed 27 senior bureaucrats on his first day as head of a caretaker government.
The opposition has given him until Friday to prove his neutrality.
He fired a police intelligence chief and the director-general of the elite Rapid Action Battalion force, notorious for carrying out extra-judicial killings.
Later Tuesday, the president appointed 10 advisers from a list of candidates recommended by different political parties.
Mr. Iajuddin took over the caretaker authority to supervise January elections after the opposition held violent protests against the government's choice. Some 25 people were killed and hundreds others injured.
The opposition gave its conditional support to the president by giving him a list of demands and a challenge to prove his neutrality.
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia stepped down Friday to pave the way for new polls under the supervision of a neutral administration.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Patricia A Butenis met with Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and urged all political parties not to sponsor any more violence on the streets and hoped all the parties would participate in the upcoming elections. The Ambassador does not think that 3 or 4 days is enough time for the chief of the caretaker government Iajuddin Ahmed to prove his impartiality and neutrality. Sheikh Hasina feels that is enough time.
Zahurul Alam has more on the story.
