EXTRA-JUDICIAL "CROSSFIRE" KILLINGS DROP SHARPLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 001807

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2010
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL BG
SUBJECT: EXTRA-JUDICIAL "CROSSFIRE" KILLINGS DROP SHARPLY

Classified By: P/E Counselor D.C. McCullough


1. (SBU) Police "crossfire" deaths in March fell 62 percent
from January, according to press reports compiled by
prominent human rights NGO Odhikar. "Crossfires" by the
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) plummeted even more, from 12 in
January to just two each in February and March. Regular
police continue to account for the bulk of the deaths, or 86
out of 105 for the first three months of 2005. The other
three deaths came from the Cobras and the Cheetahs, two small
police units. For the first 17 days of April, there were 12
reported "crossfire" deaths, none involving RAB.


2. (C) Comment: Extra-judicial killings have apparently not
stopped, as senior BDG officials maintain, but they are down
sharply. This positive trend, starting in February,
coincides with promises made then by senior BDG officials to
the Ambassador to address this issue. While quiet diplomacy
appears to have worked well in this case, we will continue to
press key BDG interlocutors for the complete elimination of
extra-judicial killing. Even if March's relatively low
figure of 21 deaths were sustained for the rest of 2005, that
would still leave a yearly total of 294.
THOMAS