B'desh gives ex-PM Zia eviction notice

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladeshs government Monday issued former prime minister Khaleda Zia with an eviction
notice ordering her to vacate the property she has lived in for 28 years within two weeks, her spokesman said.
A notice has been served to the leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia, to vacate her house, Maruf Kamal Khan
told AFP.
The move follows a cabinet decision two weeks ago to ask Zia to leave the house in the army base in the capital
Dhaka, which she has lived in since her husband Ziaur Rahmans death in 1981, because she was living in it
illegally.
Rahman, an ex-military chief and then president, was killed in an attempted coup.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who came to power with a landslide victory in December elections and holds a
three-quarters majority in parliament, has said the government would build apartments on the grounds around
the house.
The new homes would be given to the families of army officers killed in a February mutiny at another military
base in the capital.
Zia and Hasina, who have ruled the nation alternately for almost two decades, are frequently referred to as the
battling begums for their long-standing personal animosity.
Before the recent elections, Bangladesh was ruled for two years by a military-backed government which jailed
both Hasina and Zia for a year on charges of corruption.
They were released on bail in deals with the army to ensure they took part in the elections.
The army took control because squabbling between their party supporters degenerated into deadly street
violence.