The final round of the
game of charade is being played rather well in Bangladesh.
The grand finale will be acted out soon in which Siddiqul Islam aka
Bangla Bhai will be arrested by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
possibly in presence of live TV camera. Bangladesh has
finally come of age in this fast world of Internet and live TV,
isn�t it true?
The whole thing about the
rise of Islamic militancy in Bangladesh seems to be
choreographed by the four-party alliance government of Khaleda Zia.
Lest we forget, some MPs and local leaders belonging to BNP and
Jamaat from Bogra, Atrai, Naogaon, Rajshahi, etc., were instrumental
in reviving the Jamaa�tul Mujahideen
Bangladesh
JMB goons with blessings of BNP
and Jamaat high command in Dhaka. The idea was to crush
the militant communist goons by the name �Sorbohara� in western part
of Bangladesh by JMB goons who created a reign of terror
in rural areas of that area.
On May 6, 2004, I read in
Dhaka�s newspaper for the first time that a �Mullah Omar� like
figure by the name Azizur Rahman aka Bangla Bhai who is dispensing
justice in the northwestern districts of Bangladesh.
Later, we learnt that Bangla Bhai�s real name is Siddiqul Islam. In
the summer of 2004, I also saw a photograph that showed two bearded
Islamists sitting on the floor underneath a big photograph of
Khaleda Zia hung by the wall. The newspaper that printed the photo
identified the men as Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai, Siddiqul
Islam. A picture is worth thousand words. We knew the allegiance
of these two militants right away.
When Bangla Bhai�s men
were wreaking havoc in western districts of Bangladesh
during the summer months of 2004 we also read in the newspaper that
some powerful ministers of Khaleda Zia were brazenly telling the
media that Bangla Bhai is a figment of imagination of the press.
What balderdash! The two Jamaati ministers, who are adorning
Khaleda Zia�s cabinet, also uttered some harsh words against the
press for publishing Bangla Bhai�s high profile activities. The
lawmakers in Dhaka were oblivious to what was happening
in western districts. Things went so badly that the U.S.
government and European Union became alarmed by the extra-judicial
killing and torture perpetrated by JMB goons. However, that hardly
ruffled feathers among BNP and Jamaat leaderships. In 2004, most
cabinet members of Khaleda Zia were tightlipped about JMB goons;
they openly questioned the veracity of news that was published by
the newspapers. One of them openly ridiculed the press while
asserting that Bangla Bhai is the creation of the media.
During 2004 and 2005, a lot has happened
throughout Bangladesh vis-�-vis political assassination
and incidence of grenade lobbing in opposition political rally. But
then, all hell broke loose on August 17, 2005, when more than 400
homemade bombs were blasted in every nook and cranny of
Bangladesh in a coordinated fashion. Even though these
explosives were crudely made, the impact from these bombings shook
the foundation of Bangladesh civil society. Clearly,
Khaleda Zia�s government was in disarray in the aftermath of this
spate of bombings. The Bush Administration that had waged a
unilateral war against global terrorism initially did not pay much
attention to what was happening in the tiny land as far as jihadi
activities were concerned. After the Islamists did their blitzkrieg
on August 17, 2005, Washington was very much perturbed.
Suddenly, Bangladesh was in the radar screen of the Bush
Administration. Some high profile visit from
Washington to Dhaka had ensued because of the mega bombings allover
Bangladesh. The Bush Administration took the cue from the
English newspapers published from Dhaka. They pointblank
asked Khaleda Zia to arrest the masterminds of these bombings.
We saw in later part of 2005 a sea change of
attitude in Khaleda Zia Administration. Before the U.S.
took a grim view of the development in Bangladesh, the
Khaleda Zia Administration was busily propagating the idea that a
foreign nation was involved in the massive bombing allover
Bangladesh. To legitimize the administration�s view that a
foreign power was at the root of all the problem, Mrs. Khaleda Zia
appointed a one-Justice commission chaired by Justice Zoinul Abedin
who did a quick investigation of the grenade blasting incident that
took place on August 17, 2004 in broad daylight outside Awami
League�s headquarter located on Bangabandhu Avenue. His conclusion
was that local hoodlums in collaboration with a foreign country�s
counterintelligence had staged the bloody incident in which more
than two dozens people were killed including one prominent female
Awami leader. The police destroyed the key evidences by hurriedly
burying the dead and not protecting the crime scene. The FBI,
Scotland Yard, and Interpol came to Dhaka to investigate the
high-profile crime but they could not sink their teeth because of
the mismanagement by the Bangladesh police. That however
did not deter our erudite Justice, Zoinul Abedin, who simply
rubberstamped the conclusion of Khaleda Zia Administration.
Most observers including this writer have been
saying for a long time that many of the bombings in Bangladesh
had been the handiwork of homegrown Islamists. However, our
assertions were falling into the deaf ears of Khaleda Zia
government. And there is a reason for it. The Islamists such as
members of JMB had connection to the four-part alliance government.
I will cite only one example to make my case. Under the pressure
from civil society, Khaleda Zia ordered the arrest of Bangla Bhai
sometime in the monsoon months in 2004. While this was going on,
the Bangla Bhai men had rallied in the streets of Rajshahi in an
open motorcade. The police super was present in the rally as the
JMB goons brought their panoply of colorful motorcycle, trucks, and
buses to streets of Rajshahi. The goons were given protection by
the law and order department of the Bangladesh
government. Who did block the arrest warrant for Bangla Bhai and
his lieutenants in Dhaka? Obviously, Khaleda Zia and his
powerful ministers were behind this vile game. They said one thing,
however, did the quite opposite.
Why did Khaleda Zia Administration bent on
arresting the JMB leadership now? There must be a reason or two.
The next national parliamentary election is looming and Khaleda Zia
knows it well that there is a perception out there that her
administration was behind the emergence of JMB as a political
force. The second reason is the persistent pressure from
Washington. Mr. Bush�s emissary, Assistant Secretary Rocca,
visited Bangladesh not too long ago and she demanded an all out
effort by the Bangladesh government to capture Shaikh Abdur Rahman
and Siddiqul Islam aka Bangla Bhai. When Washington
talks, Khaleda Zia listens. Thus, came the high profile arrest of
JMB chief.
Isn�t it surprising to know from the media that
Shaikh Abdur Rahman and his entourage had been living in a house for
over a month in a densely populated city in northeastern part of
Bangladesh? The government of Khaleda Zia knew the
whereabouts of JMB supremo all along, but her administration decided
not to do anything about him. Had she arrested the Shaikh earlier,
there would have been a chaos in her administration. The Jamaat
wing of her administration would have been very dissatisfied with
the arrest of JMB leadership. But now, the political equation in
Bangladesh was recomputed and the JMB goons were left to fend
for themselves. It is a small wonder that Khaleda Zia�s right hand
man, Mannan Bhuiyan, the Secretary General of ruling BNP, does not
like the characterization of the high-profile arrest of the Shaikh
by the opposition. Many an observer in Bangladesh holds
the view that the arrest of Shaikh Rahman was stage-managed to
garner wide publicity especially in the West. President Bush may
utter some kind words as he often does whenever President Pervez
Musharraf tells the U.S. president that Pakistani
authorities have arrested some al-Qaeda men.
The debate on whether Islamist zealots in
Bangladesh, who are behind the widespread bombings for the
last 5-6 years, were being protected by Khaleda Zia�s government
will rage on in the media. However, if one does a critical
evaluation on the situation, the rise in Islamic fundamentalism in
Bangladesh, one would surely find the connection between the
Khaleda Zia Administration and the JMB leadership. The way JMB
godfathers behaved in the western districts of Bangladesh
in the summer months of 2004, one would be hard pressed to believe
that the leadership of JMB knew well that they would receive
impunity from the government, which they did until now. Blame it on
the civil society or the Bush Administration, but the fact remains
the same � the Islamists are in disarray at this time. It is a
matter of time when Bangla Bhai will be arrested who is now
absconding. Don�t forget for a moment that Khaleda Zia has an
election to win late this year and on top of it, she needs the
support of the Bush Administration. The game of go hide and seek in
Bangladesh is not done yet. Only time will tell the extent of
the nexus between the Islamists of JMB and the four-part alliance
government in Bangladesh.
