M. Shahidul Islam
If conspiratorial politics had an odour, its stinking whiff would have made the world uninhabitable by now. Nowhere the seeds of conspiracy sprout faster than in Bangladesh. The lack of legitimacy being the prime harbinger of conspiracy, the emerging scenario being presented by an illegitimate regime takes it colour and context from a slew of conspiracies that are propelling many to decide to leave the country for ever.
Bangladeshis are not as much fearful of the phantom threat of Islamic terror as they are of the deadly and the incredulous perception being created of it. One feels concerned that this is a danger that is going to bite its masterminds more than the victims against whom the scheme has been planted. Besides, the political bankruptcy of the regime is evident in its sole dependency on terror bogey alone to cling onto power indefinitely.
Threat perception & AL
Look where the nation stands now: A blast in neighbourinjg Bordwan district of West Bengal on October 2 is reportedly linked to a JMB plot to avenge Sheikh Hasina regime’s crackdown on Islamic militants in Bangladesh; a senior ruling party leader and minister (now removed) is in West Bengal after having incited the people of the Islamic faith about prophet Mohammed (sm) and the Muslim ritual of Haj; West Bengal’s provincial government is accused of facilitating funding of Islamic militants in Bangladesh; PM Sheikh Hasina brushes aside the prospect of an inclusive election as it would, she said, “bring BNP and Jamat back to power.”
The PM made the comment while visiting New York to attend the annual General Assembly congregation of the UN. It was also the New York City from where her cabinet minister Latif Siddiqui uttered the derogatory and inciting comments about the prophet of Islam and the annual Haj rituals.
Our investigation shows the events that are conjuring up a deadly scenario of Bangladesh being engulfed by Islamic terror occurred in a chronicle fashion to create a grisly threat perception that would yield two specific outcomes: It will create a perception that the AL is the right party to tackle such a threat and its prolongation in power is an unavoidable necessity; any move by the opposition parties to pressurize the government to hold a credible election and restore democracy will be deemed as actions of Islamic terrors with whom the main opposition BNP is allegedly tied to.
This sordid state of limbo had struck Bangladesh lately, despite the much hyped terror fear having not been proven. The scenario being presented and the latest statements of both the home and foreign ministers are contradictory and confusing.
Delhi’s cold makes Dhaka sneeze
Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said last Tuesday about the Bardwan blast that “he was told that Dhaka would get information from New Delhi.” Earlier, the home ministry said, “We had sought information from Delhi on the bomb blast in which West Bengal police found link of Bangladesh’s banned militant outfit JMB.” An Indian official spokesperson, Syed Akbaruddin, said, “We had requested their agencies to tabulate and collate information so that they can share appropriately with friends in Bangladesh.”
Before the investigation could unearth any conclusive finding, the terror alert has been whizzing around with much vehemence and, the source of it has been none other than the Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) which has taken over the investigation along with the West Bengal CID. The NIA, with heavy RAW bending, rang the alarm bell by claiming, “We had unearthed a major JMB plot to carry out attacks in Bangladesh.”
Juxtapose this NIA claim with the reported arrival to India of the now sacked minister Abdul Latif Siddiqi. Siddiqui made his inflammatory statement from New York and his daughter lives in Canada. If his intent was purely to claim protection as a political refugee to either in the USA or Canada, he would not have gone to India. It’s Delhi’s cold that is making Dhaka sneeze.
Unless Siddiqui returns to Bangladesh soon, there will be reasons to believe that his statement was deliberately, and cleverly, calibrated to foment an uprising of the political Islamists in Bangladesh in order to portray Bangladesh as a nation about to be taken over by the political Islamists, and, that the country needs the incumbent AL to stay in power and fight out such religious extremism.
AL regime indispensable?
There is a caveat however. The BNP as well as the political Islamists are aware of this game plan, as is evident from their response to all these events. Neither the political Islamists, nor the BNP, has ventured into street agitations is understood the gimmick aimed at sucking them into a trap to show the world that the AL regime is indispensable to fighting out religious extremism.
There is another caveat of utmost import. The global community is aware of a recent deal struck by the AL with the Jamat-I-Islami to spare Golam Azam, Nizami, et al from being lynched, and, curiously, while billions of dollars are being milked away from the country by the corrupt cronies of the regime, a diversionary tactic has begun to tell the world that terror groups are being funded through remittance coming from Non Resident Bangladeshis (NRB).
In the final analysis, the entire terror related scheme is self-destructive. The internationalization of the terror bogey will prove Bangladesh is a failed nation; will choke off the volume of remittance and stymie export; will make it difficult for the hard working NRBs to remit much needed funds to their families on time. Above all, it will depict the nation as what it is not.
Source: Weekly Holiday
