State of denial?

The act of unprecedented terrorism that was inflicted on the nation on Wednesday might have caught the highly politicised -- just like any other organs of the state -- intelligence agency of the country by surprise, but not the concerned citizens, local media, and to some extent the international media analysts who bothered to write about the impending danger of rising Islamic militancy in Bangladesh.

But the current government since the publication of an article: "Bangladesh: A Cocoon of Terror" in the Far Eastern Economic Review is constantly in a state of denial. The Economists in its June 16 issue commented: "The government makes it hard for foreign journalists to visit. When they do, it tends not to like what they write, especially recent suggestions that Bangladesh is witnessing a rise in Islamic extremism, and becoming a haven for international terrorists."

In direct contrast to the situation prevailing under the current government vis-a-vis those of its predecessor, the Economist wrote: "Rich-country diplomats say that whereas, three years ago, their main focus was on economic development, it is now on defending democracy."

If there is one thing consistent about our government, it is to be in a state of denial. This is why all the stories about the rising Islamic militancy, including the New York Times Magazine's unflattering story: "The Next Islamic Revolution?" provoked similar words of denial from the government, so much so that it completely refused to acknowledge even a shred of authenticity in any of the reports.

Anyone subscribing to the views of the international media was dubbed as "unpatriotic" and have been accused of undermining the "image" of the country. The media analysts were labelled Indian, Jewish, or American agents, who were all out there to "tarnish the image" of the country. In tune with the borrowed phrase of the government from an erstwhile US ambassador that "Bangladesh is a moderate Muslim country," some of our expatriate compatriots, who enjoy their lives in free and democratic societies, in joy and in grief, wrote pieces dismissing the vivid stories of activities of the Islamic militants and the potential threat they possess to our traditional free society. Their vision of patriotism excludes the cognisance of the forces who are identified as a potential threat. These one-eyed patriots fail to comprehend the fact that militancy and extremism do not engulf the nation in pursuance of the free will of the people.

One after another, when the secular institutions or personalities were targeted, the government not only accused the opposition secular political parties for committing the crimes, but also took their leaders into custody and inflicted inhuman torture on them. But so far none of them has ever been indicted for any of the crimes, and all of the crimes, till date, including the carnage of August 21, remain unsolved.

Right after the current very well-orchestrated bomb attacks, the government leaders took no time, in their traditional practice, to blame the opposition AL for the heinous acts. Starting from the senior ministers to the leaders of the youth wing of the BNP, they have not only blamed, "those who try to tarnish the country's image have committed the heinous crime," a phrase commonly reserved for AL, but some youth leaders went as far demanding the taking into remand of some AL leaders including the leader of the opposition and former PM, a common practice initiated by the current government.

BNP partner, the Jamati Islami, was not as ambiguous about the allegation since its Secretary General was very explicit and squarely blamed the AL, which, in his words, "conducted the unprecedented blasts as part of a blue print to make the country politically unstable." Without contesting the seemingly ridiculous logic behind the allegations, it would be sufficient to comment that if AL had such organised power to carry out these massive and disciplined operations, there would have been martyrs on both sides, not in the AL camp only, over the last four years of the alliance rule.

One might argue that the opposition leaders are similarly blaming the government for the bomb attacks. However, one has to take cognisance of the fact it is the government, which has all the machinery under its control to prove that the opposition is wrong, not the other way around. Opposition has no power to take anyone on remand or to interrogate anyone to investigate the accusations and counter-accusations. Since both sides are accusing each other for the crime, an opposition suggestion to invite a neutral body such as FBI to carry out the investigations carries logical merits. This practice is followed in many countries (including Canada) in spite of the fact that it has a very well powered de-politicised agency by the name RCMP to carry any criminal investigation. This would be possible only if the government abandons its policy of embracing any foe of AL as its friend.

Some members of parliament and ministers of the ruling alliance belonging to the northern area where Bangla Bhai and his comrades are trying to re-establish their reign of terror flatly denied, even after the countrywide attacks, the existence of the thug leader, even though the so-called Banglabhai has been featured in a number of stories relating to Bangladesh in the international media including the recent one in The Economist.

Even their own government has been doing mock attempt to arrest the person who was non-existent in its radar before his organisation was banned. Some political analysts who are in cahoots with the government in its state of denial spared no time on casting doubt on the ability of the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who claimed the responsibility through leaflets, to carry out such massive and well-orchestrated attacks, as if they are well aware of the nitty-gritty of this organisation.

In fact, the credibility of the government leaders and their cohorts has never been at such low ebb. The more vociferous the denial of the government, the greater the chance that the denied story might just be true. It seems that the only way one could find out if something has gone wrong is when the government leaders issue denials that anything has gone wrong anywhere.

The dress rehearsal of the impending danger should force the government to withdraw itself from its state of denial. The danger is hypothetical no more, and if (though already very late) not taken seriously would destroy the foundation of the free society that bulk of our citizens so much cherish.

The lion's share of the responsibility to protect our value systems and democracy rests with the government, which, in the first place, needs to pull itself out of the state of denial, and protect it with the help of the people, acknowledging the fact that the opposition political parties are an integral part of the process. The stakes could not be higher: the nation and the freedom of its people -- and the BNP and its current allies have not been given the exclusive right to them.

Dr. Mozammel H. Khan is the Convenor of the Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh.