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National security is under attack

Post breakfast

Muhammad Zamir
It is important that the issue of our national security be now debated not only in the Parliament but also steps taken to establish a bi-partisan National Security Council. Contingents from our armed forces and the police are respected all over the world for their dedication as UN peacekeepers in upholding law and order and also stability in war affected areas in different countries. Why should we be unable to provide the same rights of proper governance and security to our own citizens?***
THE month of August is proving to be a month of tears and bloodshed. What happened on 17th August underlined once again that those responsible for providing security to ordinary citizens are failing in their tasks. As the nation contemplated the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Bangabandhu and his many family members and also the first anniversary of the heinous grenade attack on the leader of the Awami League and other party leaders, they were shocked with the nearly 400 simultaneous blasts that rocked 63 of the 64 administrative districts of Bangladesh. Carried out with great precision, indigenous low-intensity bombs went off within 11 and 11.30 in the morning all over the country. The only district spared was Munshiganj.
Official structures in district headquarters were mainly targeted. That generally included the offices of the Deputy Commissioners as well as offices of the senior most police and judicial officials in that district. Two persons died and over a hundred were injured, some seriously. The casualty would have been higher had the explosives been of greater intensity. The bombs left minor wounds but also created deep scars within the national psyche. They have also raised many questions. This is not the first time that anger has been expressed over the failure of government agencies in being able to anticipate such horrific incidents. Nearly 150 people have been killed and over a thousand injured in a series of bomb blasts in Bangladesh since 1999. It has included attacks carried out in cultural functions, in cinema halls, in shrines and in different political meetings. It has graduated from simple explosives to sophisticated grenade attacks. Targets have included the British High Commissioner as well as senior Awami League functionaries. The general public have heard after each incident that serious investigations will take place and those found guilty will be punished. Sometimes senior judicial officers were also appointed to carry out independent investigations. The results at the end of the day were the same. Nobody was eventually held accountable for having failed in his duty. No judicial report was ever discussed in the Parliament. No investigation finding was ever made public. It has been a sorry tale. At every turn, national security has been made the scapegoat for lack of transparency. We have a surfeit of intelligence agencies within the government responsible for ensuring state security as well as security for important individuals. It would appear however that they are seriously failing in their duties.
The attacks on 17 August were in a manner of speaking symbolical. Those responsible were pointing out to the government that they were sufficiently organised to plan a selective campaign and carry out coordinated attacks on state institutions, including High Court and Supreme Court premises. The attackers were also implying that if necessary, they can up the ante. The Government has to understand that they are currently playing a high-stake poker match. A state of denial and the proverbial ostrich syndrome will not win the war against this form of terror. We have already seen how journalists are targeted regularly not only by criminals and vested interests but also by senior cabinet ministers. It is quite easily clai med that opposition political parties are unnecessarily castigating the government and creating this irresponsible image of fundamentalism gaining ground in Bangladesh.
Time has now come to take stern measures. Self-analysis needs to be undertaken to ascertain as to why there are such repeated failures in intelligence gathering.
It is true that intelligence lapses have taken place also in the USA and the UK. However, investigators were able to identify the perpetrators within a few days. This was demonstrated in the manner in which the London bombings have been handled and those involved arrested. We have in Bangladesh, something diametrically opposite. It would probably be worthwhile at this juncture to try to understand why we are failing. Is it because the intelligence gathering agencies are receiving misleading information and are insufficiently trained to be able to sift through such facts? Is it because they are producing reports that only match what is desired by their political bosses? Is it because they have inadequate links that hinder sufficient gathering of covert intelligence? Is it because the entire law and order delivery system has gone off the rails because of politicisation? Is it because of inadequate resources? Is it because the money that is made available for obtaining information from covert sources are never used, but consumed by the intelligence officials themselves? Is it because of the absence of a bi-partisan approach in facing up to this serious issue? These are hard questions, but they have to be answered.
I now come to the leaflets that were discovered in the vicinity of most bombing sites. They bore the letterhead of the outlawed Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB). The leaflet, in Bengali and in Arabic (probably to assert the Islamic connection rather than comprehensionnot even .001 per cent of the population either speak Arabic or understand it) claimed that the perpetrators wanted to establish 'Khalis Tauhid' (pure monotheism) by putting an end to bida't. All this, so that Islamic law can be introduced within the country. They have also claimed that those associated with or who desire the 'Kufri' concept of democratic institution building are enemies of Islam.
I fail to understand their trend of thought. Islam, from the very beginning has always upheld freedom of choice. The essence of democracy was exemplified in the manner in which the first two Caliphs of IslamHazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umarwere chosen. They were given priority over Hazrat Ali. These were conscious decisions which upheld the strict principle of choice. Democracy emerged in Islam while Europe was still in the dark ages. Consequently, to target democracy, is also to take away the fundamental right and privilege of personal choice. Does it not say in Ayat 6 of Sura Al-Kafirun that 'to you be your way, and to me mine'. Does not Allah through this, command us to be patient and not sit on judgment? We should not forget that this only is His prerogative.
The bombings of 17 August have left this country in a state of siege. The Opposition quite rightly have accused the government of having failed to provide security to the public at large. Members of the BNP led Alliance would have done the same had they been in opposition today. The issue however does not relate to, or should not be confined to, a blame game. The vital interests of the State are at stake. There can be no compromise.
Today, our economic future is closely associated with a stable and secure environment. Bomb attacks and that too by alleged Islamic fundamentalists will not endear us to the world at large. Economic diplomacy and image building have already been challenged because of charges of corruption. Intolerance, both in politics and governance, has also tarnished our image.
oliticised administration, where newly promoted senior officials go to the office of the me Minister with flowers has not also helped.It is the character of the attacks on 17 ust that worries me. There is now this additional intangible damage to the country's utation abroad. We can now kiss tourism good-bye.
It is the larger context that forces me to ask for necessary accountability. The government this time round must be able to find answers to three basic questionswhy this has taken place, who might be the perpetrators and who could be the expected beneficiaries? It would be very easy to lapse into conspiracy theories. I feel, however, that time for such frivolity has elapsed.
It is important that the issue of our national security be now debated not only in the Parliament but also steps taken to establish a bipartisan National Security Council. The politics of sycophancy needs to be also set aside. It is now a matter of commitment.
We may be dysfunctional in our governance, but we are not yet, thanks to God, a failed state. Contingents from our armed forces and the police are respected all over the world for their dedication as UN peacekeepers in upholding law and order and also stability in war affected areas in different countries. Why should we be unable to provide the same rights of proper governance and security to our own citizens?
Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador -- any response to mzamir@dhaka.net