World Notes BANGLADESH

First the opposition began another round of violent protest. Then, inevitably, President Hussain Mohammad Ershad declared a state of emergency, banned political activity and suspended civil rights. Just as predictably, the protesters paid no attention to the presidential order as they pursued their campaign to bring down Ershad, who had come to power in a 1982 coup.

As usual in the turbulent politics of Bangladesh, demonstrators thronged the streets of Dhaka, the capital, and were sporadically dispersed by soldiers wielding batons and tear-gas canisters even as they fortified themselves with makeshift barricades. The government ordered the arrest of the two women who head the main opposition groups -- Sheik Hasina Wazed of the Awami League and Begum Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party -- but the two remained undaunted. As it happens, Hasina is the daughter of a slain former President, and Zia is the widow of another. Vowed Hasina: "Ershad's last days have arrived. We shall not leave the streets until the dictator is removed."