Media Reaction: Country Report on Terrorism; Dhaka

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TAGS: KMDR OIIP OPRC KPAO PREL ETRD PTER ASEC BG OCII BG
SUBJECT: Media Reaction: Country Report on Terrorism; Dhaka


Summary: Noting that Bangladesh's role in the war against
terror has been praised by the U.S. State Department, "Daily
Star" expressed concern over the presence of extremists
groups and urged the government to act with greater
determination to eliminate their challenge.

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Country Report on Terrorism
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"State Dept lauds B'desh: Serious concerns remain in some
areas"
Independent English language newspaper "Daily Star"
editorially comments (5/3):

The US State Department has lauded the role of Bangladesh in
the war against terror. That is indeed good news for a
country that came under a barrage of criticism by the
western media in recent times and even got branded as the
"breeding center" of religious fundamentalism. The report
reflects the concern that Bangladesh has always shared with
the international community over international terrorism.
But the report has also claimed that the Harakatul-Ul-Jihad-
I, a terrorist group, is operating in Bangladesh. The matter
of grave concern is that the group is reported to be linked
to the al-Qaeda network. Now, the government must place the
whole thing in the right perspective. The appreciation of
our role vis--vis terrorism should not blur our vision when
it comes to handling the tricky question of the presence of
militant outfits in the country. Nor will outright denial of
any such irritant being present here help us. In fact, it is
no longer a secret that the activities of some organizations
operating in the name of religion are being viewed with
great suspicion by the international community. The recent
crackdown on the suspected militants was proof enough that
the government itself had deemed it necessary to act against
them. But the move has fizzled out for inexplicable reasons.
Then do we have to believe that the whole exercise was for
public consumption only? Either it has been abandoned under
the pressure from the rightist groups or it lacked the
substance that could have made it a worthwhile attempt to
wipe out the militants.
The State Department report says that the Harakat has six
camps in Bangladesh and is suspected to have links to the
attempt in July 2000 on the life of the then Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina. So the danger that such organizations pose
needs no elaboration.
There is little doubt that the militant outfits are the
principal beneficiaries of the government's failure to catch
the criminals responsible for the recent bomb attacks and
killings. It is time the government acted with greater
determination to neutralize the fundamentalist challenge.
Chammas