Bangladesh's main opposition party has called for a nationwide general strike this Thursday to protest the arrests of dozens of its members in what it says is a government crackdown on its membership.
Members of Bangladesh's main opposition Awami League say the government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia should be hunting down the culprits of Saturday's string of cinema bombings that killed at least 17 people and wounded 200 others, instead of arresting opposition members.
The party called today (Monday) for three days of protests beginning Tuesday with rallies and marches in the capital, Dhaka, and culminating in a nationwide general strike Thursday.
Several Awami League senior politicians and pro-opposition journalists and intellectuals have been among those detained in this week's arrests. Although officials say their arrests have nothing to do with Saturday's bombings, they are being held on suspicion of trying to destabilize the state.
Bangladesh's ruling National Party and the Awami League have a history of bitter relations.
No one has claimed responsibility for Saturday's bloody blast in the town of Mymensingh, which is 100 kilometers north of Dhaka. At least 17 civilians were killed when blasts tore through four cinemas where people celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan were gathered watching movies. Many of the wounded remain in critical condition and officials fear the death toll could rise.
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