Author: Bhaskar Roy
Publication: South Asia Analysis Group
Date: March 14, 2008
URL: http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers27/paper2623.html
A press note was issued by Bangladesh Home
Ministry on March 6 declaring a virtual war on the Bangladesh chapter of the
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI-B). The note said that the "forces have
been kept alert" to track the movements of these elements to different
parts of the country" and intelligence agencies were vigilant to foil
any HUJI (B) conspiracy against the country.
Almost immediately after the Bangladesh government's
declaration, the US revealed that US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice
had upgraded HUJI (B)'s terrorist status under which the organization's assets
in the US and in US controlled territories would be frozen, and anyone associated
with it would not be entitled to a US visa. Ms. Rice also applauded Bangladesh's
efforts to fight terrorism and emphasized commitment to assist Dhaka in this
task.
The US State Department had designated HUJI
(Pak) and HUJI (B) as level-II terrorist organizations in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Bangladesh followed suit with HUJI(B) only in October, 2005, after the August
17, 2005 country-wide terrorist explosions. A mixture of panic and anger rose
against the ruling BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) coalition government for the
sharply deteriorating law and order situation. In fact, the sense of security
of the nation was shaken.
Terrorism, using the cover of spreading Islam,
was not an overnight phenomenon in Bangladesh. It grew over decades, may be
even a century, in a convoluted way. Political opportunism was at its core.
The British introduced religious divide in Bengal in the late 19th and early
20th century. A divided region was easy to rule.
The partition of greater India in 1947 on
the basis of religion saw the birth of religion based political parties, institutions
and bodies. Having basically been born out of bloodshed, there was a discernable
character of revenge. Politicians exploited this.
Yet, if one goes deep into the social, cultural
and religious fabric of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, there would be
more to appreciate than condemn. That is, among the normal common people unpolluted
by religion or politics.
Inter-religious strife is not unknown in this
world. In India, caste conflicts claim more lives each year than inter-religious
clashes do. Much of it is due to mounting pressure on land. The weaker section
suffers.
The festering terrorism in Bangladesh witnessed
today has its roots in the war of liberation of 1971 leading to the birth
of Bangladesh. Viewed from the other side, it was the dismemberment of Pakistan.
Inside Bangladesh, the target of these terrorists is not the 12 per cent Hindu
minority. The real targets are the pro-independence activists and empathizers
of the political and intellectual section of the country's population, who
also uphold secularism. The terrorists see them as perpetuators of the liberation
ideology and iconoclasts of the two-nation theory. It destroyed Pakistan's
argument on Kashmir that Muslim majority provinces post-1947 are naturally
destined to be part of Pakistan.
To the terrorists who are mainly instruments,
and their promoters who have emerged as promoters of a "Pakistan confederation"
political theory, the pro-liberation and secular population are impediments
to their agenda. Hence, they should be neutralized.
India figures high in Bangladesh's politics
because of its involvement in the war of liberation. It was not a war started
by India. Leaders in Pakistan made a series of blunders. If the West Pakistani
political and military leaders had not tried to impose Urdu as the lingua
franca of Bangladesh from the very beginning, and had allowed Sk.Mujibur Rehman
to become the Prime Minister in 1969-70, 1971 may never have happened.
To understand the rise in terrorism in Bangladesh,
two phases in the initial years of Bangladesh need to be revisited at least
briefly. During the 1971 War of Independence, a section of the Bangladeshi
(East Pakistan) political spectrum collaborated with the Pakistani army. These
people were not actually fighting the Bangladesh resistance forces. Their
job was to demoralize the pro-liberation population who were, otherwise, non-fighters.
They indulged in indiscriminate rape and killings. According to verifiable
reports from foreign doctors who came to help after liberation, almost four
hundred thousand women were raped. There are accounts that children were made
to drink belly-full of water to prevent them from running, and shot as a sport.
These people are the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami,
Bangladesh (JEI-BD) led by their present Amir, Motiur Reheman Nizami. These
groups were divided into groups known as Razakars, Al Badrs, and Al-Shams.
Even today, Motiur Reheman Nizami is known colloquially as "Motia Razakar"
in parts of Pabna district where he led mayhem.
Despite denials by the JEI leadership lately,
concrete evidence is available about their complicity in the 1971 massacre.
The smoking gun is the record of fortnightly reports sent by the Home Secretaries
of East Pakistan between March and November, 1971 to Islamabad.
The next phase is from Prime Minister Sk.
Mujibur Rehman's assassination in the early hours of August 15, 1975 and General
Ziaur Rehman's taking over power in 1977 and his formation of the BNP.
Several questions remain unanswered. Why did
a group of army officers, some of whom had participated in the liberation
war, wipe out Sk. Mujibur Rehman and most of his family? Events since reveal
they were tools. Who or which country mentored them?
Ziaur Rehman, as a Major in the Pak army,
was one of the Sector Commanders in the freedom war. He is reputed to have
declared "independence" on behalf of Sk.Mujibur Rehman. It is, however,
of historical importance that he rehabilitated the JEI politically, eliminated
nationalist elements, and created the BNP-JEI alliance. Briefly, Zia, who
also became President of the country collaborated and brought back the very
same anti-liberation elements he is reputed to have fought against.
Basically, he gave life and sustenance to
elements who unleashed terror on the people of Bangladesh in 1971. Ziaur Rehman
is increasingly been seen as the greatest betrayer of Bangladesh's liberation
or independence.
Zia was assassinated in an army coup attempt
in Chittagong, in 1981. The BNP was taken over by his widow, Begum Khaleda
Zia. It is said that Khaleda Zia is a product of Pakistani cantonments. The
description apparently comes from reports that during the liberation war she
decided to remain in the Dhaka cantonment with Pakistani officers rather than
join her husband. It is not surprising, therefore, that the BNP and the JEI
became partners in arms in Bangladesh politics.
The 1971 Bangladesh war for liberation which
turned into a full fledged Indo-Pak war, created a determination not only
in the Islamabad establishment, but also among the people of Pakistan, to
hurt India as much as possible. The dismemberment of Pakistan was seen as
a great humiliation brought about by India, and they wanted to avenge it.
As the new Bangladesh began turning away from the spirit of liberation and
secularism, Pak-Bangladesh ties grew stronger and the Inter Service Intelligence
(ISI) began establishing a terrorism base in Bangladesh against India.
According to estimates, about 40,000 Bangladeshis
participated with the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan against the
Soviet forces. Later many of them worked under the guidance of the ISI to
join terrorist groups to fight in Chechnya, Palestine and other places. Most
returned to Bangladesh indoctrinated, and with an agenda.
Mufti Hannan, Commander of the HUJI-B fought
in Afghanistan and was later inducted by the ISI created Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET)
and HUJI (P). The leader of the Jamatul-Islam Bangladesh (JMB) Sk. Abdur Reheman
was also a product of the Afghan war.
Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
and other Gulf countries were vulnerable to negative influence. Many of them
were indoctrinated in radical Islamism of the Wahabi and Deobandi lineage.
They were recruited by the ISI stations in these countries. Others involved
in these activities were the NGOs like Revival of Islamic Society (RIHS) and
Al Harmain Trust, which are known funding agencies of Al-Qaeda. Osama bin
Laden's Islamic International Front (IIF) and Saudi Arabia-based World Assembly
of Muslim Youth (WAMY) were actively involved in aiding and funding the process.
Some of these NGOs like the RIHS were officially
registered with the Bangladesh government NGO Board. No background checks
were made. The RIHS remained in Bangladesh for almost one year after it was
directly implicated as a fund provider for the JMB, responsible for the August
17, 2005 countrywide bomb blasts. This suggested complicity between officials,
and the radicalism and terrorism promoters.
A substantial amount of the funds came through
bank transfers. The cover was NGO work for the poor, construction of Masjids
and creating Madrassas. Many of these institutions were used for inculcating
radical Islamism and Jehadi view point of the Islamic world.
According to Bangladesh media reports the
foreign funds came in through various cover accounts, also. The Islamic Bank
of Bangladesh, linked to the JEI, was a major conduit of their funds. These
media reports quoted from official investigations. Accounts in the official
Bank of Bangladesh (BOB), and other banks revealed accounts used for transfer
of funds to front organizations and individuals in the country.
A series of investigations of account holders
and their transactions have not seen any action or results. The US was also
helping to train Bangladeshi banking officials to track terror financing.
But everything seems to have gone quiet on this front. There is no explanation
forthcoming from the government.
To seriously counter terrorism information
of financial transfers, conduits and communication details are very necessary.
Are their strong forces inside the government who continue to stone-wall their
investigations?
The timing of the peaks in terrorist activities
demands some elaboration, to fix responsibilities and intentions.
HUJI (B) unveiled itself in Dhaka in a public
appearance in 1992. They left nothing to imagination, with the declaration
of the ideology of Jihad. The militant nature of their avowed campaign was
demonstrated with the cadres wearing sleeveless military camouflage tops.
The signs were there for everyone to see. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's BNP
government, however, chose to ignore it.
Subsequent events point to the fact that the
BNP and the JEI were possibly patronizing the HUJI (B) as a militant arm.
The organization went ahead without any hindrance to set up their indoctrination
and arms training bases mainly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area, Cox's Bazar
and Patuakhali in eastern Bangladesh. The terrain there is suitable for such
activities, outside mainstream eyes.
In the early 1990s, the JEI maintained a low
profile. In a well charted strategy, it was working on consolidating its position
in the country, given its collaborator history during 1971. It also flirted
with Sk. Hasina and the Awami League government of 1996-2001 in election alliance.
It was a master stroke. Sk. Hasina hoped she would capture Islamic votes.
But the JEI put a large question mark on her because of her party's secular
and pro-liberation reputation.
In the next general elections in 2008, JEI
formed a coalition with the BNP, and revealed its true colours. They won the
elections with a huge majority. The JEI's confidence grew to the extent that
it openly declared they would form an Islamic government at the 2011 elections
on their own.
The activities of HUJI (B) in the country
was generally low profile. They not only had strong links with their mother
body in Pakistan and the ISI, but also allegedly with the Bangladesh agency
Directorate General of Forces
Intelligence (DGFI). The ISI and the DGFI
have formal co-operative agreements, and the DGFI generally allowed ISI's
operations in India. HUJI (B) was one of the vehicles, as investigations in
several terrorist attacks in India have revealed.
The people in Bangladesh were shocked when
it was conclusively established that the JEI and the BNP used the HUJI (B)
to eliminate important political rivals. In April, 2000 Mufti Hannan made
an attempt on the life of Sk. Hasina who was then the Prime Minister of the
country.
While this attempt failed, the grenade attack
on a public rally on August 21, 2004 had some success. Sk.Hasina was seriously
injured and she still suffers from the injuries she received. Twenty other
Awami Leaguers were killed including a member of the party's Presidium.
An official investigation on the "August
21" incident concluded that there was a foreign involvement, meaning
India. A known criminal was set up to provide evidence on these lines.
Hannan reportedly surrendered to the Dhaka
police in October, 2005 and not arrested in a police hunt. He confessed that
he was involved in both the attacks on Sk. Hasina at the behest of the BNP-JEI
combine.
Even more startling was his revelation that
BNP's Minister of State for Home Affairs, AVM (Retd) Altaf Hossain Choudhury
had assured him protection. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia kept the portfolio
of Cabinet Minister for Home Affairs with her. She should also be held complicit
in the "August 21" case, which is murder and attempt to murder.
There were other terrorist incidents also,
but to appreciate the big picture of terrorism in the country the rise of
the JMB and its twin, the Jagrata Muslim.
Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB) requires examination.
The name JMJB was only a red herring, the two organizations were the same.
The JMB headed by Sk. Abdur Reheman and the
JMJB headed by Bangla Bhai (Siddiqul Islam) proudly claimed that they were
responsible for the August 17, 2005 country-wide bomb attacks. This was not
to kill but a demonstration of their strength, that they could hit any part
of the country. The almost simultaneous explosions took place in 63 out of
64 districts of the country.
Then followed several attacks aimed to kill.
The country was outraged when two district judges were assassinated in 2006
by the JMB/JMJB.
For a long time the leaders of the BNP and
the JEI at the highest remained in public denial about the existence of the
JMB/JMJB and the HUJI (B).
The JMB was created by BNP politicians to
settle local scores over property and other such disputes. From there, the
organization graduated to political activity demanding imposition of Shariat
law, Islamic government, Arabic as the main official language, abolition of
current law and courts system among other things. Despite these acts, BNP
Ministers continued to promote and protect them, with able support from the
JEI. BNP's second Minister of State for Home, Lutfozzaman Babar, ensured the
freedom of Sk. Abdur Rehman and the JMB Shura members. Several leaders and
senior cadres and leaders from the JEI's students wing, the Islamic Chaatra
Shibir (ICS) joined the JMB in its expansion.
After arresting most of JMB/JMJB top leaders,
the BNP-JEI governments were in a quandary over further actions. These terrorist
leaders made it clear that they were responsible for the terrorist acts and
had no regrets. They also did not recognize the jurisdictions of the "man-made"
courts to try them. The government had only one option - that is to impose
death penalty according to law. The law courts did what the government dictated.
Hence, it would be a decision of the Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia.
According to some knowledgeable people in
Dhaka, JEI Shura member and fiery ideologue Dilwar Hossain Saidee, met Prime
Minister Begum Khaleda some time in July or August, 2006 and advised her not
to execute the JMB leaders. He reportedly told her that they would be useful
in the upcoming national parliamentary elections. The terrorist leaders were
later executed by the Caretaker Government.
Khaleda Zia acted against the JMB leaders
only after a stern warning from US President George Bush who was visiting
India in February, 2006. Within a fortnight, these untraceable terrorist leaders
were rounded up by the police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The manner in which terrorism took roots and
flourished in Bangladesh is indeed a matter of concern not only for India,
but also for the West. It is not for nothing that the US Secretary of State
took this decision to personally go public to upgrade the terrorist status
of the HUJI(B). Apparently, the nexus between the HuJI (B), HUJI (P), LET
of Pakistan, sections in the ISI and the Al-Qadea may be coalescing into one
international network to threaten the US and the West.
Despite the arrest of Mufti Hannan, and another
Kingpin of the HUJI (B) Mufti Abdur Rouf, the organization remains healthy
and active. According to reports, their chain extends to South Africa and
South America. These are not new developments. They existed and the West ignored
them for reasons of their interest.
Washington deals with the JEI, Bangladesh,
as a moderate Islamic political party. They have a reason for it, as have
the UK. Increasingly, Muslims around the world have begun to view the USA
as anti-Islam across the board. The American and British strategists in the
respective governments and their political leaders want to get rid of this
perception.
In the course of this strategy, which may
be well intentioned, they may be giving parties like the JEI Bangladesh a
foot in the door to surreptitiously promote radicalism and terrorism in the
name of religion for political ends.
JEI Bangladesh's Dilwar Hossain Saidee is
known for his vitriolic speeches exhorting jihad against Jews, Chirstians
and Hindus. Yet, the British Foreign Office issued him visas to travel to
the country and give public speeches to local Muslims, in spite of opposition
from Parliamentarians, journalists and others. It was expected that Britain
would be the only Western country which knows South Asia the best. But they
seem to have lost touch.
The Bangladesh Home Ministry press note on
HUJI (B), and Additional Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr.Sheik Abdur Rashid's
press briefing on the subject, does not inspire confidence. He spoke of dealing
with these elements with an "iron hand" but action on the ground
does not match the system.
The army-backed Caretaker Government appears
to have a problem. It is not only the terrorists per se, but the politicians
involved with these terrorists. At the heart of the problem is the last Prime
Minister of the country, Khaleda Zia, her elder son Tareq Rehman Zia, senior
B NP and JEI politicians and, of course, critical role of senior officers
of the DGFI who are still serving.
The BNP-JEI combine had staffed the administration,
army and the security establishment with their own people. While some of the
BNP acolytes can change sides when push comes to a shove, the committed JEI
elements are not likely to. The JEI is working for a cause and their vision
is long term and they are willing to sacrifice.
The JEI is the heart that supplies blood and
oxygen to the radicalism and terror vehicle in Bangladesh. They remain secure
as long as the West woos them in their global Islamic strategy of winning
Muslim hearts and minds. But they are yet to understand that majority in Bangladesh
are Sufi oriented Muslims who oppose the JEI variety of religion, politics
and culture.
Historically, terrorists have been a small
group intimidating a large population. The large population is terrorized
because they do not subscribe to retaliatory terror as an instrument. Terrorism
in Bangladesh can be eradicated in a short span of time if the international
coalition against terrorism led by the USA apply themselves seriously to the
Bangladesh problem instead of political fishing in the troubled waters of
Bangladesh. Otherwise, Bangladesh may blow up in their faces. They would then
withdraw no doubt, but the neighbours of Bangladesh would be left to suffer.
In the longer perspective, however, the West will not be spared.
The onus lies on the shoulders of the army-backed
Caretaker Government to move quickly, conclude the investigations and bring
the culprits to justice. A lot of time has been lost even with the extension
of the life of this interim government. If they dare to take the steps, support
from across the world will come in. If they do not, their half-done tasks
will come to visit them individually and collectively with a vengeance they
have not thought of.
The bottom line, however, is that while almost
all the other political parties have been investigated and action initiated,
JEI remains untouched. The power of the JEI, therefore, to sabotage Bangladesh's
secular and moral system remains undiminished.
(The author is an eminent analyst with many
years of experience. The views expressed by the author are his own. He can
be reached at grouchohart@yahoo.com)
