The Real Terrorists in Bangladesh

In a blitzkrieg of a remark, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan defended the security forces on Saturday, at a dialogue organised by the BBC Bengali Service in Dhaka nonetheless.

In response to BNP Vice Chairman Hafizuddin Ahmed’s question: “Isn’t the basic right of a man to live is denied by the crossfire?”, the minister replied: “Of course, every human being has the right to live. But, I think a bit of crossfire is needed to uproot terrorism from the country.”

He further added, “The people of the country have accepted crossfire. Crossfire do take place in other countries too, which is legal”

The comments have drawn national and international criticism from concerned individuals, online activists and advocacy groups.

This comes at an increasingly important time where corruption, extrajudicial killing and an utter disregard for the rule of the law by the rulers themselves is rife in Bangladesh, which was placed 92nd among 99 world nations in terms of the rule of the law in the past year by the World Justice Project (WJP). Add to that the news that allegations of murder, torture and forced disappearances are being levelled at Bangladesh's government in a case under review by the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and you get an idea of the picture at hand here.

Still looking for more evidence of the real terrorists in Bangladesh? This is a picture taken just yesterday from the online version of the popular newspaper Amar Desh (print version closed down by the government) of public armed clashes between two groups of Awami league factions fighting each other at Sreepur, Gazipur, over elections on the 9th of March, 2013.

And you still ask as to who are the real terrorists in Bangladesh?        

The IHS Jane's Shibir mania. Just how justified is it?

In a press release entitled, “Global Terrorism & Insurgency Attacks Rapidly Increase in Five Years”, according to IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, Bangladesh Islami Chatra Shibir was ranked 3rd among the most active “non state armed groups”.

The list compiled was shown as follows:

1. Barisan Revolusi Nasional (Thailand)
2. Taliban
3. Islami Chhatra Shibir (Bangladesh)
4. Communist Party of India – Maoist
5. Al-Qaeda in Iraq
6. Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabaab)
7. FARC (Colombia)
8. New People’s Army (Philippines)
9. Jabhat al-Nusra (Syria)
10. Unified Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist

As expected, the news made headlines in newspapers throughout Bangladesh. Interestingly, few cared to wait for any explanation as to why Bangladesh Islami Chatra Shibir, an exclusively student organization active in thousands of primary schools, colleges and universities in Bangladesh and a well known member organisation of the World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY), was put along with well known, well documented and most importantly, well filmed armed groups such as the Taliban, FARC, Jabhat Al Nusra, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab among others.  

Some observations regarding the IHS Jane Report :

1.      The IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre uses open source data to build its global database. Wikipedia, quoting the U.S. Director of National Intelligence and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), defines open source data as data "produced from publicly available information that is collected, exploited, and disseminated in a timely manner to an appropriate audience for the purpose of addressing a specific intelligence requirement." In the context of Bangladesh, this open source data includes comparatively biased and sometimes shockingly inaccurate reports by the Daily Star ( most widely circulated English daily in Bangladesh), the Independent, bdnews24, the Daily Sun, etc. among others, all fiercely opposed to Shibir, a phenomenon stemming from politically and ideologically biased ownership. A bulk of this open source information stems from the electronic media too, which is interestingly party to heavy handed censure by the state as evidenced through this somewhat old but quite handy list.   

2.      An essential part of this open source data stems from Bangladesh government sources, which are bound to be biased to Shibir by default (due to political opposition).Couple that with the dismal press freedom index rank of 144 out 179 in 2013 (dropping down 15 places from 2012) and a country corruption index rank of the 13th most corrupt country in 2013 and you would begin to wonder if media not already closed under the circumstances were unbiased to start with. So effectively, when media and government reports on Shibir pursue a unified course, there is just reason to be alarmed and cautious.

3.      The report, by mentioning non state groups, has overlooked the biggest perpetrator of terrorism, the state itself, namely governments of the USA, Myanmar, Syria, Bangladesh, etc. In light of the above discussion, it would do well for any sane mind to note that the government of Bangladesh has carried out gross violations of human rights against its own civilians throughout 2013 as evidenced by this hot off the shelf report by Human Rights Watch.

So why was Shibir listed among the top 10 world terror organizations? We shall have to wait till the detailed report comes out I guess. Shibir, on its part, has strongly protested the IHS report.  

Shahbag spearheads cheap politics with dead BCL cadre Dip

A third-year student of mechanical engineering and BUET unit Chhatra League convening committee member, Arif Raihan Dip, died at about 4:00am in Square Hospitals in the capital on the 3rd of July 2013. He had been unconscious since he had been stabbed him in his room at the Kabi Nazrul Islam Hall on April 9. He was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in a critical condition and was later was moved to Square Hospitals.

Arif Raihan Dip Source: Daily Star

The media spin:

This is how the media described Dip’s attack-

1. Newage says, “An unnamed man had stabbed him in his room at the Kabi Nazrul Islam Hall on April 9.”

2. Daily Star says, “An unidentified man dragged Dwip down the hall’s stairs and stabbed him indiscriminately on April 9.”

3. Bdnews, in a more dramatic tone, claims, “Finally the miscreants attacked Dip in his dormitory on Apr 9 and left him severely wounded in his head and back.”

4. In the most dramatic tone, mixing unverifiable witness accounts into the factual description, the Dhaka Tribune claims, “According to witnesses, four youths hacked Dwip in his room, located in the Kobi Nazrul Islam Hall, using sharp weapons at around 11am on April 9.”

All media were unanimous in planning the seed of doubt, when they quoted Chatra League leaders pinning the blame on usual suspects. The Dhaka Tribune deserves credit for being the most (mis)informative when it says, “Although the assailants could not be recognised, Arif’s friends said they suspect members of Islami Chhatra Shibir or Hefazat-e-Islam of being responsible.”

The motive:

New Age reports that Raihan is said to have been attacked as he along with some other students stopped an imam of a hall mosque providing Hefazat-e-Islam activists with food during their long march to Dhaka on April 5. The imam, Abdul Alim, was suspended immediately as the students informed the university’s student welfare director Delwar Hossain of the matter.

Bdnews starts playing around with the motive when it states, “ The assault followed hearsay that he along with some other students had barred an imam of one of the hall mosques from supplying food to Hifazat-e Islam activists during their long march to Dhaka on Apr 6. Later, the Imam, Abdul Alim was suspended.”

Other media did not care to report on the matter.

A past history of violence:

Although ‘progressive’ news media did not hesitate to identify Dip as being some sort of a hero, his documented past is not so rosy. This was the same Dip who was suspended for being involved in attacks on general students just about a year ago. As reported by bdnews, following a dispute on Dec 28 2011, between the senior and junior batches over entering a concert organised for the rag day of the outgoing batch, 2008 batch students Saifullah Sikder Mithun and Sujit Saha of the Material and Metallurgical Department and 2009 batch student Arif Raihan Dip of the Mechanical Engineering Department.  on Dec 31 2011, beat Tousif Ahmed Ishan, a final-year student of the Computer Science and Engineering Department with hockey sticks and iron rods in his room in the Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall, leaving him with severe injuries in his both hands and legs. BUET unit Chhatra League general secretary Tonmoy Ahmed had said though the three accused were his fellow party activists, his party was not involved in the attack. They would be expelled from the party, he had added.  BUET students organised protests on the campus to demand that authorities permanently expel the three students who are accused of beating Ishan.

Not only was Dip reinstated into the university within a short period of time, he was also reinstated into the Chatra League itself and was a Chhatra League convening committee member on the eve of his attack on the imam.

A victim?

The Detective Branch arrested fourth-year civil engineering student Md Mezbah Uddin on April 18 at the campus in this connection. The police said that Mezbah had confessed to attacking Raihan in the hall. Mezbah is reported to have told investigators that Raihan had beaten the BUET mosque imam for providing Hefazat activists with food on April 5. However, NO connections to Hefazat OR Bangladesh Islami Chatra shibir have been even remotely suggested by police or proved by anyone.

The supposed ‘confession’ of Mezbah is also subject to controversy in the current climate of fear stemming from a plethora of well documented police excesses in Bangladesh. Add to this the fact that the Lalbagh police seized a bag containing a machete, a pair of pajamas, a panjabi and a cap from the Kobi Nazrul Hall and you get the idea as to where we are all headed to.

Shahbag plays cheap politics:

Shahbagh protesters bring out a procession in Dhaka on Tuesday protesting at the death of BUET student Arif Raihan Dwip three months after he was hacked by a fellow. — New age photo

Dhaka Tribune and New Age reported that Shahbagh protesters, meanwhile, held protests in the Shahbagh crossing on Tuesday evening demanding an immediate arrest of the attackers, blaming Shibir and Hefazat activists for the attack. They were led by Convener of the Ganajagaran Mancha, Imran H Sarkar and coordinator Maruf Rasul. The protesters from the programme accused Hefazat-e-Islam of making the attack on Dwip that took his life. This of course seriously raises concerns as to whether Shahbag really has turned into a haven for anti-Islamic hatred and partisan politics (the Chatra League is and a driving force at Shahbag and it is the student.body of the ruling Awami League)

So the question remains, is the death of a well known miscreant going to be just another manufactured scenario to further fuel the Islamophobic narrative actively sponsored by the government of Bangladesh?

Chatra League: Embodying terrorism en masse

UNB reported that two people, including an 8 year old boy, were killed and another person was injured during a gunfight between armed cadres of the Jubo League and Bangladesh Chhatra League over dropping a tender for three development projects of Bangladesh Railway East Zone headquarters, CRB Bhaban, under Kotwali Police Station at around 11:45am.

  

8 year old Arman. What was his fault?

Kotwali Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Nezamuddin said the armed clashes erupted following a dispute and running battles between the groups of Chhatra League and Juba League over a tender for a Tk 4.8 million renovation project of Feni Railway Station.

Police said that around 20 rounds of gunshots were fired at the time.

After the horrible incident, police conducted drives in different parts of Chittagong and detained around 40 people, including Chhatra League Central Assistant Secretary Saiful Alam Limon.

The deceased persons were identified as passersby Arman Hossain, 8, son of Siddique Ahmed and Saju Palit, 24. Both were residents of a nearby slum. While playing out in the open, Arman was shot in the head and died on the spot. Saju was sitting on a roadside tea stall near the clash site when a bullet hit him in the head. Doctors declared him dead after he was rushed to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital.

What did he do to deserve this end? Was innocence his fault?

How the Chatra League (re)acted,

In a media statement, the President of the Chatra League, HM Badiuzzaman Shohagh and the General Secretary Siddique Nazmul Alam said there was no active committee of Chhatra League in the port city. "None have been ordered to work for the organisation at any level there," the statement said.

However, police have said that apart from Limon, the arrestees include Chhatra League's Chittagong University unit Organising Secretary Alamgir Tipu, Cultural Affairs Secretary Jamir Uddin and Chittagong Commerce College Vice-President Hasmat Ali Russell.

In a sham of a bid to appear tough, in a press release in the afternoon, the front said it was permanently expelling its Central Assistant Secretary Limon for his involvement with anti-organisational activities

Meanwhile, in this month….

In case you do not know, the above incident is no way an isolated one. Let us refresh our memories from a few examples from June 2013 (this month) itself.

On the 22^nd of June, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-11 arrested president of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of Burichang chapter with 250 tablets of Yaba (methamphetamine) tablets from Shankushil bazar under Burichang upazila early hours Saturday.

On the 14^th of June, local cadres of the Juba League and Bangladesh Chhatra League, carried out an attack on Kazipur municipality office on Wednesday. They vandalised various furniture of three rooms of the office worth around 5 lakh taka.

On the 11^th of June, president of Savar College unit Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) was sued on the charge of rape. Police said that the victim’s mother Doly Begum filed a case against BCL leader Ahmed Rubel and ten others, including his two brothers, with Savar police station in the morning.

A walk down the memory lane….

8 year old Arman Hossain, a victim of today’s clashes, did not deserve to die the way he died. Nor did Bishwajit Das. Neither did 10 year old Rabbi at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. But the fact is that convicted criminals have been granted immunity and have enjoyed widespread impunity, just because of the obnoxious fact that they are affiliated with that sorry excuse of an organization called the Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL). 

A recent report of Centre for Media Research and Training shows that around 60 higher education institutes of the country were declared shut for indefinite period because of the BCL’s factional clashes and those with their political rivals. They also locked in 200 clashes in different educational institutes over the last four years that left around 4,145 people injured. Around 20 teachers of Dhaka University have been assaulted by Chhatra League activists during this time. They assaulted around 20 teachers of Bangladesh Agriculture University on August 20, 2011. On May 10, 2010, BCL activists assaulted a female teacher and 10 female students of JnU. More than 150 journalists were assaulted by BCL in the last four years by activists of BCL, the report said. 

It was found that in most of the incidents, no cases had been filed. Moreover, cases which were filed were done so against unidentified people even though the attackers had been exposed through media and witnesses. 

In conclusion,

Once the pride of a beleaguered nation, Bangladesh Chatra League of late has turned into a terrorist outfit; one even Sheikh Hasina herself has failed to bring under check. Progenitor of a generation that gave Bangladesh great political leaders, the BCL has now turned into a haven for miscreants and anti-social hypocrites who use it as a breeding ground to create mindless replicas of themselves. It is high time that this terrorist outfit be either banned or brought to justice in order to set the records straight. There is no other alternative.

Bangladesh Police detain 19 yr old Waseema for possession of Islamic literature

Shocking are the reports emanating from Bangladesh. Here is translated news piece that set me seething, 

" A court at Rajshahi in Bangladesh sent a man and his 19 year old daughter to prison as it set a date for hearing against a police prayer for 10 days and 7 days remand respectively on charges of being connected to Jamaat-e-Islami last Friday afternoon. The arrested are Engineer Abul Kalam and his college going 19 year old daughter Waseema Ehsan.

Abul Kalam Azad (52), an engineer at the government owned power plant at Katakhali in Rajshshi, was shown arrested in a case filed previously at Boalia Model Thana in connection with attacks on police. His daughter Waseema Ehsan (19), student at Rajshahi College and an examinee due to give her Higher School Certificate (HSC) exams this year, was shown arrested in a case filed under the Anti-terrorist Act. This was stated by OC Ziaur Rahman on part of the police and confirmed by the lawyers of the accused.

This arrests had been carried out in a raid on Wednesday night at their house at Ranibazaar area at Rajshahi. The OC further stated that Sakib Ahsan (15), 8^th grade student of Masjid Mission Academy School and College at Rajshahi and son of the arrested Abul Kalam, had also been nabbed at the raid, but was released a day later on Thursday night since the police did not find his connection to any ‘crimes’.  

Apart from their strong ties to Jamaat-e-Islami (Abul Kalam had strong ties to Shibir in his student days and was presently connected to the politics of Jamaat while his daughter Waseema was connected to Chhatri Sangstha, an Islamic organization for female students) , the OC said that his team had uncovered ingredients of cocktail making from the arrested (marbles, cans/tins and powder) along with some Islamic literature.

The police further explained that Abul Kalam was actively involved in giving donations to Jamaat and that regular meetings and programmes of the local Jamaat-e-Islami activists used to be held at his house."

The news is shocking because of the following:

1. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is NOT BANNED is Bangladesh. It is a registered political party and has representation in the current parliament. Moreover, its participation in the general elections held in Bangladesh are as old as democracy itself in Bangladesh.

2. Having Islamic books and literature is NOT a crime under Bangladeshi law.

3. They were arrested on Wednesday night, yet produced before court on Friday afternoon, more than the stipulated 24 hours allowed by the law in Bangladesh.

4. They were obviously arrested without a warrant. Waseema was shown arrested under the Anti-Terrorist Act in Bangladesh and her arrest is a clear abuse of the law which gives the security forces total freedom in arresting any person who they believe has explosives or arms, or who they believe finances terrorism, or even supposedly thinks of committing a criminal offence; the culminating act being that of a loosely defined 'terrorist activity'. 

Alone, talking is all that I shall be able to do at this junction. It is up to us to call for justice, united as a body. How long this state sponsored injustice will continue, will depend on how long we decide to remain silent.