DHAKA, Jan 8, 2008: Bangladesh's detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday refused to go abroad for treatment on conditions offered by the military backed caretaker government.

Hasina, suffering from several complications of her eyes, ears and blood pressure, said she will not go abroad for treatment by accepting the conditions. She fell sick in court on Dec. 31 last year.

Personal physicians of Hasina Sunday formally requested Chief Advisor of the Bangladesh caretaker government Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed to send her to the United States for treatment.

Earlier, the then Law and Information Adviser of the caretaker government Mainul Husein, who resigned Tuesday, said the authorities would consider sending Hasina abroad if she or her party proposed it.

Hasina who ruled the country for five years from 1996 was arrested on July 16 last year on the extortion charge of 30 million taka (about 428,571 U.S. dollars) filed by a private power company chief executive.

Bangladesh President Professor Iajuddin Ahmed declared the state of emergency on Jan. 11, 2007 to quell political turmoil over the abortive parliamentary polls set for Jan. 22 last year.

The present military-backed caretaker government launched a war on corruption in its attempt to make the domestic politics clean before the general election to be held before the end of this year.

Nearly 200 former ministers, parliament members including another ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia were arrested on charges of corruption, extortion and abuse of power.
 
There is widespread belief that the present caretaker government is trying to get rid of the two supreme female leaders of Bangladesh and their families. Sending Hasina and Khaleda abroad for treatment is assumed to be part of that plan popularly known as "minus-two" formula.

@ The Bangladesh Journal

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