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WIRE: 04/14/2001 9:42 am ET

Bomb Blast Kills Nine in Bangladesh

DHAKA (Reuters) - A bomb exploded at an open-air concert in the Bangladesh capital on Saturday killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 50, witnesses said. A second blast about 45 minutes later wounded a policeman, they added.

The concert, at Dhaka's lush Ramna Park, was part of celebrations marking the Bengali new year and, according to witnesses, had attracted a crowd of about 15,000 people.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the blasts which she blamed on "forces who opposed Bangladesh's independence (from Pakistan) and want to destroy Bengali culture."

"I urge all Bangladeshis to resist the evil forces trying to jeopardize democracy and retard (economic) progress," she said in a statement.

Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, won independence in 1971.

Hasina visited some of wounded at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and later told a gathering of diplomats: "the Bengali new year began with a bad omen."

"The bombing was a politically-backed attack on innocent people by communal forces," she added. "Power-mongering political parties are involved (in the attack)."

President Shahabuddin Ahmed said he was deeply grieved by the loss of lives at a non-political rally.

BLASTS SPARK PROTESTS

Khairul Anam Shakil, general secretary of Bangladesh's leading cultural group, Chhayanot, also condemned the bombings as an attack on Bengali culture.

"I am deeply depressed and disturbed by the incident. We have been holding such concerts for over 40 years to highlight Bengali culture but never before have we become a target of terrorism," he told Reuters.

Political and cultural groups staged street protests outside the capital shortly after hearing the news. They wore black badges and demanded "exemplary punishment" for the killers.

Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, chief of Bangladesh's largest Islamic political party Jamaat-e-Islami, said his party opposed violence.

He held the government responsible for Saturday's blasts, saying "the authorities have utterly failed to ensure people's safety and protect lives.

"Following previous such incidents, we (Jamaat) demanded judicial inquiries to find out the real culprits...but the government appeared more interested in using tragic incidents to turn its guns on Islamic forces."

Bangladesh's ruling Awami League accuses Jamaat of helping the Pakistani army in the killing, torture and rape of Bengali nationalists during the 1971 war.

State television interrupted normal broadcasts to appeal for blood donations.

The private television network ETV, which was broadcasting the concert live, showed the dead and wounded on the ground lying in pools of blood, while others were screaming and running away.

In March 1999, at least 10 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in a similar bomb attack at a meeting organized by another cultural group, Udichi, in western Jessore.

Police and Udichi officials blamed the attack on Islamic fundamentalists or other "terrorist" groups.

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

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"Like, major bass woofers, man!"

And we ain't talkin' fat chicks!

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001