A Regime In Denial

The 500 explosions were real, what's unreal is Dhaka refusing to recognise extremism

A Regime In Denial
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Also looming large over Bangladesh is the menacing shadow of Bangla Bhai, who has attained notoriety for his violent reprisals against banned Left groups in western Bangladesh. Bangla Bhai belongs to the JMB; his mentor is Moulana Abdur Rahman. His bloody acts against Left radicals, though, were carried out under the banner of the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). Both the JMB and the JMJB are overlapping outfits.

Bangla Bhai's possible role in the August 17 bombings pushed the Zia government into a corner. On January 26 this year, state minister for home affairs Lutfuzzaman Babor had rubbished the media about its report on the JMJB and Bangla Bhai. A month later, the government banned the JMB and the JMJB. The government's vacillation on militancy prompts Dhaka University's Prof Sirajul Islam to ask, "What will the government do now after denying the existence of such groups? After this well-planned attack, they can't deny their existence any longer."

The BNP leaders, however, are doing exactly that. Nadim Mostafa, a BNP lawmaker from western Natore district, told this correspondent, "I do not believe there is any extreme militant force in the country." He claimed the bombings were aimed at sabotaging the SAARC summit in November. Deputy minister for land Ruhul Quddus Talukder, also an MP from the same area, told this correspondent, "The (main opposition) Awami League must have done this using fake leaflets to destroy Bangladesh's imageinternationally. The JMJB and the JMB may have some hold in some areas, but they are not strong (enough to launch a countrywideattack). Those who are doing this are aiming to grab power by creating anarchy." Both these leaders and state minister for housing Alamgir Kabir had been earlier accused of bringing in Bangla Bhai to counter the outlawed left-wing Sarbahara Party in western Bangladesh.

Apart from the JMB and the JMJB, another outlawed group—the Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh (AHAB) of Muhammad Asadulllah Al Galib—is under scrutiny for the bombings. Intelligence sources say these three Islamic militant groups are interlinked, and have connections with Islamic groups in Muslim countries in West Asia, and Pakistan. One school of opinion in intelligence circles believes AHAB is a mass platform of the JMB, and most AHAB workers are involved in JMB activities. Another school says JMB militants through Galib have utilised the facilities of some 700 mosques built across the country by the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS). This Kuwait-basedNGO, they say, has funded Galib with crores of takas over the last one decade.

Worried citizens feel August 17 is perhaps the last warning before the country spirals into a vortex of violence. Brig General (retd) Shahed Anam Khan told Outlook, "The organisation behind August 17 was extremely sophisticated and networked. It's clear that at least 500 people were used to place the bombs; their strategy was classic—send in men who don't know the core group which had planned and assembled the bombs. This is something which we never encountered in the past."

Khan, like so many others, thinks August 17 has brought into question the very existence of the nation. Its citizens can only hope that both the BMP and the Awami League sink their differences and come together to fight the monster called terrorism. Before it consumes them.

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