Still undetermined!

The state minister seemed to accord very little credit to the public's intellect when he said the other day in Chittagong to the press that the government is yet to determine definitively whether there are religious extremists in Bangladesh. People have more between their ears, than what the state minister credits them with, to see the opacity of his remarks. His remarks take an even more poignant character when considered against the backdrop of 17th Aug and all that have gone on since, and of the very recent 3rd Oct bombings.

When the police have filed the first charge-sheet in one of the 17th Aug serial blasts, reportedly defying pressures from a few in the ruling alliance, in which the accused masterminds have been shown as belonging to the proscribed radical Islamist elements, the minister is still unsure of the presence of religious extremists in the country!

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The minister's remarks is demonstrative of the government's make-believe world that it chose to live in all this time when it came to the question of religious extremism in Bangladesh. It is hard to believe that the government, according to the State Minister, had actually believed that there were no radical fundamentalists in the country before the 17th Aug bombings. It is even harder to accept the argument that the government is still not convinced that there indeed are Islamic extremists in Bangladesh! If that were so, it would not be out of place to ask what was the major motivation of the administration to ban the two Islamist groups early this year?

Such obscure remarks do very little to justify government's action or inaction, but even worse, it confuses the law enforcing agencies if not derail them completely from the line of work they are engaged in. Such remarks also reinforce in the public mind the government's innate and pathological reluctance to accept the reality on ground, which is that we are stuck with the radical Islamists, and unless the government manages to break out of the mental straightjacket of false belief that it is in, it will not be able to provide the nation with security by employing the necessary countermeasures against these elements.

With the many arrests made so far after the 17th of Aug, the leaflets that were found at the places of occurrence declaring their ideology, one wonders what more does the government need to be convinced of the fact, however unpleasant that might be to swallow.

And this is what distresses us. If the government did not choose to accept the presence of extremists in the country it is entirely its folly. Over the last many years that include the tenure of the previous government also, there were more than telltale signs of the activities of these groups in Bangladesh. Since 1999, except perhaps for one or two targets, the character of all the other targets chosen by the perpetrators point to the very political and ideological moorings of these groups. Many of those arrested in the aftermath of the blasts have also admitted to their association with the two banned Islamist groups. And it is very apparent that they carried out their tasks with the motivation and zeal behooving the radicals only even more so after the 3rd Oct blasts. If the State Minister chooses to remain still undetermined he may well be left to chew the bitter cud.

The blasts of 3rd Oct convey some very important messages. One, that these elements have deep rooted tentacles in the country. That they are willing to risk personal safety to carry out dangerous mission, fitting almost the description of suicide bombers. Second, their connections are deep-rooted with well-entrenched ideology. Even the ground operators, which the minister chooses to describe as misguided persons, are well motivated to go to any extent in carrying out very hazardous missions, as apparent from the way that the three bombs were exploded. Thirdly, the brains behind the activities are well trained, capable of improvising. Fourthly, the masterminds are still at large and capable of coordinating activities all over the country. Fifthly, they are capable of being more violent if they choose to be so, as apparent from the casualty from only three blasts as compared to that of the almost five hundred blasts of Aug 17th.

We hope that these blasts will more than convince the state minister and those that are still vacillating in their minds that these are the handiworks of religious extremists, and they did certainly not suddenly sprout overnight in Bangladesh. The government will do well to stop wasting time trying to determine whether religious extremists are present in the country or not and concentrate in tackling them in a forthright manner.

The law enforcing agencies have done a pretty good job so far in making some important arrests although the brain behind these groups are till at large. Seizure of large quantity of IED materials has perhaps anticipated more destructive activities of the extremists.

The government must therefore further intensify its efforts to apprehend the masterminds. No matter how many low-level operators are apprehended, and we are not sure how many of them there are in the cadres, we cannot suppress their activities unless the brains behind them are nabbed. And there is a need also to look beyond the borders to see the sources of funds as well as motivations. Those arrested recently have made some very startling statements, which must be investigated thoroughly to determine their internal and external patrons, if any.

But equally importantly, the law enforcing agencies must brace up and indeed prepare for bigger and more spectacular fireworks in future by the extremists. This must be done without creating alarm or causing prior panic among the public. It is so much better to be prepared for the worst-case scenario than suffer the consequence of misplaced euphoria. It makes anticipation of the extremists' acts very much easier although one understands that there can never be foolproof arrangements that can anticipate all the eventualities. But to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

A redeeming feature of this is that these elements have little popular support. But their efforts to motivate the gullible must be countered. Ideas must be countered with ideas and the government's plan to launch motivation campaign to counter the religious extremists bears strong rationale. But one must also caution against how this motivation is conducted.

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