A group of citizens slammed the United States of America’s “dual” policy yesterday, holding it responsible for the rise of militancy in Bangladesh.
The USA had been “patronising” Islamist militant groups across the globe to achieve their interests, they alleged.
Terming the policy “dual” and “notorious”, Shahriar Kabir, acting president of Ekatturer Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee, said: “The US has to change its policy against terrorism which conviniently patronises militancy in different countries.”
He made the remark while speaking at a discussion titled “Militancy Threats: Bangladesh’s Concern” at the capital’s Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel.
He claimed that the USA patronised Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh, which is the mother of all militant groups in the country and operates through capitalising on the religious senitiments of the masses.
Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque said people should be made aware of the hazards of militancy as they have a tendency to believe anything that is presented to them when justified by the religion. The militants take advantage of these beliefs to bolster their side.
Besides the government, the educational institutes and families also should take the responsibility to raise their children’s awareness about the negative effects of militancy, said Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, registrar of East West University.
Mentioning the murder case of blogger Rajib, he said some derailed students of a private university who were involved in the murder did not even hold the guilt as they were so blinded by these militant groups.
“The USA had tried heart and soul to keep Jamaat-e-Islami in the 10th National Parliamentary Election held on January 5, which indicates the level of their patronisation towards Jamaat,” said Shahriar Kabir .
Sultana Kamal, chairperson of Transparency International Bangladesh, said the presence of militancy in this sub-continent was the result of international politics.
However, in the case of Bangladesh, the patronisation and lenient attitude of the two major political parties had made it easier for militancy to grow in the country.
Sarwar Ali, a trustee of the Bangladesh Liberation War museum, said: “In the case of their [USA] own people they do not tolerate terrorism, whereas for other countries they patronise militants. Such a policy is highly self-contradictory and harmful for humanity.”
In 1999, Bangladesh experienced militancy for the first time, said Major General (Retd) Abdur Rashid.
However, Jamaat showed its true colours as a militant outfit after the International Crimes Tribunal, on February 28 of last year, awarded a life sentence to its Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayeedi for crimes against humanity during the liberation war of Bangladesh, he said.
Former Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank Khondoker Ibrahim Khaled said militancy was absent in the country when BNP and Jamaat were not in an alliance together.
Professor Mizanur Rahman, chairperson of Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission, urged the government to take immediate action to eradicate militancy from the country to protect the human rights of the people.
He said government had already lost the trust of people which is reflected in the ongoing Upazila Parishad polls where Jamaat backed candidates have won a significant number of seats.
The financial institutions of Jamaat should be nationalised and handled by the government to make them weak, he added.
Golam Sarwar, editor of the daily Samakal said Jamaat did not have the right to do politics in Bangladesh as they did not believe in the country’s independence and constitution.
He suggested a special tribunal be formed to prosecute acts of militancy.
More than 50 academics, security analysts, civil and military bureaucrats, and journalists from home and abroad joined the four-hour discussion, organised by the Bangladesh Centre for Peace and Development.
