The military regime running Bangladesh has decided to get rid of the two women who have fought the Bengali dictatorship since the 80s and who dominated the political scene in democratic Bangladesh since 1991 until last January, when the military seized power once again. After driving the former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, into exile in Saudi Arabia, in exchange for releasing her son from prison, today the army-supported transition government prohibited opposition leader Sheikh Hasina from returning home after a vacation in the United States.

Sheikh Hasina. "Her inflammatory speeches and provocative statements create hostility and threaten law and order," announced the Secretary of the Interior about Hasina, explaining, "In the recent past, the irresponsible actions of the Awami League party and others (the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Khaleda Zia - ed.) have led to the collapse of legality and the economy of the nation, forcing us to declare a national emergency." The Interior  Secretary is referring to the strikes and protests last October and January that virtually paralyzed Bangladesh, provoking violent clashes with the police, resulting in the deaths of dozens of protesters. In recent days, regime chiefs in Dacca have accused Hasina of responsibility for these deaths. "I'm not afraid of prison or threats," responded the leader of the Awami League today, from the United States. "They can do whatever they want, but my conscience is clear, I know I committed no crimes and did nothing wrong," she said, expressing her will to challenge her prohibition to return home, which should have taken place last Sunday.

Khaleda Zia. Meanwhile, her old ally from the struggles against the military regime in the 1980s, now her rival, Khaleda Zia will depart Saturday for Saudi Arabia. Zia is head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and until last October was the nation's prime minister. The generals who prop up the transitional government of president Iajuddin Ahmed put her under house arrest a week ago and continue to persecute her family. On Monday her son Arafat Rahman was arrested, but released yesterday in exchange for Zia's promise to leave the country immediately. The Saudi embassy in Dacca granted visas to Zia and her entire family. She will depart on Saturday for Riad. But her other son, Tarique Rahman, another leader of BNP, was arrested a month ago and remains in prison. Since January 11, when the state of emergency was declared, the so-called "anti-corruption campaign" has led to the arrests of 126,000 political activists of both parties, and the death of at least 79 prisoners. For three months the people of Bangladesh have lived in fear of the police and military, especially the notorious "RAB," the Rapid Action Battalions.