DHAKA QUIET AFTER KILLING OF OPPOSITION OFFICIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 002314

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2015
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL BG
SUBJECT: DHAKA QUIET AFTER KILLING OF OPPOSITION OFFICIAL


Classified By: P/E Counselor D.C. McCullough, reason para 1. 4 d.


1. (C) Summary. Local media and some Awami League (AL)
leaders speculate that the May 17 killing in Dhaka of a minor
party leader was the result of internal rivalries and not, as
the AL publicly alleges, "government backed killers." End
Summary.


2. (SBU) On May 17, three unidentified assailants in the
Tejgaon district of Dhaka unleashed a barrage of gunfire that
killed Advocate Khorshed Alam Bachchu, Legal Secretary of the
Awami League's Dhaka city unit, as he went to work at the
Supreme Court. The killing triggered limited but violent
rioting in Tejgaon, which is about a half mile from the
Chancery. AL SYG Abdul Jalil condemned the killing as the
work of "government-backed killers" and announced as a
protest a dawn-to-dusk general strike for May 18 in Dhaka.


3. (SBU) Local media, citing AL sources, speculated that
internal AL rivalries over appointments to a local committee
might be behind the attack. Bachchu's widow, in a tearful TV
interview, alluded to committee "problems," apparently as a
possible factor in her husband's death. Embassy press
guidance, reported by many newspapers, expressed condolences
to the bereaved, condemnation of acts of violence, and hopes
for bringing Bachchu's killers to justice promptly and
lawfully.


4. (C) AL Joint Secretary General Mukul Bose, a Sheikh Hasina
loyalist, confirmed to us that internal rivalries could be
involved, but said it is premature to draw firm conclusions
about the perpetrators or their motives.


5. (SBU) The May 18 general strike has been relatively
relaxed, with no reports of violence and traffic moving at
close to normal levels in many areas.


6. (C) Comment: The AL's ability to derive mileage from the
killing of Bachchu, a minor official largely unknown outside
his neighborhood and AL circles, appears to be limited. His
modest profile and speculation that he was the victim of
internal party rivalries probably account for the
exceptionally poor public response to today's strike.
Competition for local party prominence can be fierce for the
sake of prestige and of influence in the awarding/selling of
party nominations for political posts.
THOMAS