US lawmakers' outrageous demands

And nobody but the most naive can dismiss it as being merely an "internal communication with their secretary of state" to quote the spokesperson of the foreign ministry. The formulation of the spokesperson's reply, in that he said: "I consider …" rather than, "It is the view of the government …" suggests that it perhaps was his own personal opinion. It hardly needs to be stressed that the public is interested not in what the views of the spokesperson on an issue are, but on what the position of the government is on a particular matter.

The spokesman also articulated his suspicion, by way of his opinion, as to who might have 'instigated' the whole affair. The public is, however, not so much interested on his suppositions as in the facts. And the fact is that some US lawmakers have made some extraordinary demands of their government in respect of Bangladesh, which no self-respecting sovereign state can countenance, much less endure. One therefore cannot but wonder what is the actual position of the government on the matter?

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Regrettably, it appears that the implications of the steps that the Congressmen have suggested in the said letter have not sunk in with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs policy planners. One would like to think that there are some fine minds at the ministry who will have taken in the gravity of the so-called 'internal communication' that is too serious to be brushed aside through a statement by the spokesperson of the ministry, who, as the substance of his statement suggests, did not perhaps have the time to think through the matter.

While one can ascribe any number of motives behind the US Congressmen's move, our policy makers, at least those for whom the ominous connotations of these developments are not beyond comprehension, must be thankful to them as well as to the extremists, whose actions of the August 17 were the immediate cause for motivating the US lawmakers. At least we know what we are up against on both counts.

On the diplomatic front, the actions the Congressmen suggested that their government should take, in view of what they term as political violence in Bangladesh, forebodes something dangerous and sinister. And insofar as the extremists are concerned, we at least have an adversary that has exposed its hand and much of its weaknesses, by making public their aims as well their tactics. At least we know who to go after, although the masterminds are yet to be identified, and the two major actors are yet to be apprehended.

The lawmakers' comments sounds like a recorded replay of what we have been hearing over the last several years; of Bangladesh almost being close to a failed state, that this land of ours has willy-nilly become hotbed for terrorists and may soon become a centre of international terrorism, and that the political flux in Bangladesh has the potential for affecting regional peace.

The US congressmen have been moved by the recent events in Bangladesh. Their actions stem from the apprehension that it might lead to a situation which may ultimately take the entire region down the precipice. This has compelled them to urge their government to place a three-point proposal to the UN. One, send an investigation team to review the investigation and determine whether it has been conducted effectively. Two, appoint a UN special envoy to examine the Kibria case and investigate and report on the broader issue of political violence, and three, send independent UN monitors to Bangladesh if the Kibria case goes to trial.

What is extraordinary is the spontaneity with which the Congressmen suggest UN intervention in matters that fall within the charter of a sovereign government. How quickly they suggest employing UN investigation teams to exercise oversight of those investigations that have been conducted. And not only that, the suggestion that UN monitors should be employed to monitor the case of the ex-Finance Minister if it goes on trial, is extraordinary indeed. The US legislators have moved much faster in suggesting UN intervention in Bangladesh than some of their colleagues have been willing to even countenance ideas suggesting its employment in places where it was more relevant and appropriate, for example in occupied Palestinian territory.

There is a good chance that the demands of the Congressmen, the concatenation of events of the past several years, coupled with the ostrich-like mentality of the government, compounded by the bombings of August 17, may reinforce the view that many in Bangladesh hold, which is that there is a move afoot to make Bangladesh a failed state, that all the bombings carried out with clockwork precision are perhaps the handiwork of those who would like us to fail, and all the recent developments are orchestrated to do just that, and that there is more to the lawmakers' concern than meets our eyes.

No doubt there is political violence in the country that must be addressed, but does it merit the intervention of a supranational entity? There has indeed been failure on the part of our governments to conduct conclusive investigation into the bombings, particularly those that have targeted high profile personalities. The government cannot hide behind the excuse that there is a general spurt of violence and terrorism all over the world. It must also be said that the killing of Mr. Kibria has brought the question of political violence in Bangladesh to international attention more than all the others. There has been, understandably so, more concerns expressed after his killing than the more than hundred deaths heretofore due to bombings.

But our efforts should be to bring to justice through proper investigation all those responsible for all the deaths caused by the more than twenty incidents of bombing so far since 1999. One unnatural death is one too many, and no death can be slighted.

All cases of death deserve equal treatment; stressing on any particular one desecrates those that have perished in similar incidents. Therefore, what we need is not a UN watchdog but substantive assistance to go into the roots of all the bombings.

It seems also that the US lawmakers have also gone overboard in expressing concerns for the regional security scenario. To any objective observer, their apprehensions would appear grossly exaggerated. There are many security and strategic developments around us that have far greater potential to destabilise the region than the recent developments in Bangladesh.

But this does not absolve the government in any way from its responsibility to suppress the religious extremists whose gestation in our soil has been largely due to the government's inaction. Eliminating the so-called Islamists and their convoluted ideology can hopefully put the situation right.

The author is Editor, Defence and Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.