EU MPs urge end to government-opposition violence in Bangladesh

By Serajul Quadir DHAKA (Reuters) - A visiting European Parliament delegation urged the Bangladesh government and opposition representatives on Thursday to immediately end violence arising from protests aimed at securing new elections under a non-partisan administration. Ninety people have died in street clashes since the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which boycotted the 2014 election, launched non-stop protests on Jan. 6 to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina into a fresh vote. Analysts say the renewed turmoil could threaten the South Asian country's $24-billion garment export industry that is already under pressure after a string of fatal accidents. The three-member European Parliament delegation led by Christian Dan Preda of the People's Party examined the human rights situation during a five-day visit that ended on Thursday. "Having met government and opposition representatives, (we) urged an immediate end to the increasing violence," the group said in a statement, also echoing calls from Bangladeshi civil society groups for negotiations to resolve the crisis. But Hasina's Awami League party told the European MPs that it would not engage in dialogue with the BNP until street violence stops. “We may sit to discuss with them free, fair and credible elections... but everything within the constitutional process," said Gowher Rizvi, a senior Hasina aide. (Reporting By Serajul Quadir; Editing by Larry King)