UPDATE ON AHMADIYAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 003001 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SUBJECT: UPDATE ON AHMADIYAS Classified By: D.C. McCullough, reason para 1.4 d. ¶1. (U) The Ahmadiya community planned an event known as a Jalsa Salana to be held in Kandipara, Brahmanbaria on May 20. In connection with this event, the press claimed the local Ahmadiyas had renamed the town Ahmadiya Para. Both the gathering of Ahmadiyas and the apparent renaming of their town angered the members of the local madrassa. The madrassa announced a three-day protest, disguised as a religious gathering, to be held 60 feet from the site of the Ahmadiya gathering. Local authorities chose to avoid the potential for violence by invoking Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Among other provisions, this section bans all outdoor gatherings larger than four people. Press reports large numbers of police officers were dispatched to Brahmanbaria, and despite the high tensions, no violence has occurred. ¶2. (C) DCM spoke with MFA America Director General Shahidul Islam to express U.S. concern over deteriorating relations between Ahmadiyas and other residents. DCM thanked the BDG for its consistent efforts since April 2005 to protect the Ahmadiyas, but said it was disappointing that Ahmadiyas could not have their gathering in Brahmanbaria. A successful event would have indicated great improvement in community relations after the anti-Ahmadiya violence of April 2005 and the January 2006 protests over the burial site of an Ahmadiya woman. DG Islam responded that Section 144 was invoked primarily to stop the madrassa protest, not the Ahmadiya gathering. However, once the law is invoked, it applies to all assemblies. He assured DCM that the BDG is still committed to protecting the rights of minorities. ¶3. (C) On May 22, PolOffs spoke with the National Emir and other Ahmadiya leaders in Dhaka. They claim they had no intention of renaming the town. They said the neighborhood in which most Kandipara Ahmadis live is informally known as "Ahmadiya Para," which is the designation they used on all printed materials related to the event. The leaders are willing to reprint everything using "Kandipara" instead, if that will allow the Jalsa Salana to go ahead peacefully. ¶4. (C) Section 144 restrictions are generally lifted within a few days of being invoked. The Ahmadiyas said they do not know when this restriction will be lifted in this case, but they intend to hold the Jalsa Salana in Brahmanbaria as soon as the authorities allow. The Ahmadiya leadership went out of their way to praise the district commissioner in Brahmanbaria, saying he had issued all the permissions necessary to hold the Jalsa Salana over the objections of the local mosque and madrassa, and supports their right to have a peaceful gathering. ¶5. (C) Comment: Post will continue to monitor this situation closely. The presence of a kwami madrassa, housed in a mosque built by Ahmadiyas in the 1930's and taken over by religious bigots in the late 1980's, makes Brahmanbaria communally volatile. BUTENIS