JAMAATUL MUJAHEDIN AND LAW AND ORDER IN RAJSHAHI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000866

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016
TAGS: PTER KISL PGOV BD BG BGD
SUBJECT: JAMAATUL MUJAHEDIN AND LAW AND ORDER IN RAJSHAHI

Classified By: A/DCM D.C. McCullough, Reason(s): 1.4 (b)


1. (C) Summary: Residents of Rajshahi told poloff that
Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB) were once considered
favorably when, at first, JMB fought back against the
Sharbahara, "leftist" criminals who had plagued citizens for
decades. However, the JMB began demanding money for their
protection and eventually attacked the citizens who did not
join their cause. Poloff spoke to police, local leaders, and
university professors on local perceptions of JMB. Poloff's
discussion with members of Ahle Hadith Andolan about JMB and
Dr. Ghalib, who has been arrested for alleged connections
with JMB terrorists, will be the subject of septel. End
Summary.

THE RISE OF THE SHARBAHARA
==========================


2. (C) For years, according to local journalists and
officials, the Rajshahi area has been victimized by bands of
"leftist" criminals. The Rajshahi Division's (the equivalent
of a province) top police officer, Deputy Inspector General
Bahural Alam, told poloff that "for 30 to 40 years" the
Sharbahara victimized Rajshahi residents. At first, JMB were
welcomed for fighting back against the Sharbahara, but very
soon afterwards resorted to demanding protection money, and
fell out of favor, he said.


3. (C) Sharbahara means "proletariat" in Bangla, and came to
be referred to as "leftists" due to their frequent use of
leftist political terminology. Rajshahi University sociology
professor Mizanuddin told poloff that history and geography
contributed to the rise of both the Sharbahara and JMB. The
Rajshahi area, he said, was prone to radicalization due to
poverty from the lack of good roads for getting goods to
market, and, after the India/Pakistan partition, many West
Bengal Muslims came to Rajshahi with an exposure to Communism
and a "Pakistani view of Islam."



THE SHARBAHARA STRIKE
=====================


6. (C) Two local officials, each a supporter of one of the
main parties, Awami League and BNP, had each been assaulted
by the Sharbahara or JMB. Adding to Mizanuddin's social
reasons for lawlessness, they told poloff that there simply
are not enough police for the area.


7. (C) BNP Chair of the Tahirpur Municipality A.N. Shamsur
Rahman described his attack by the Sharbahara last year. He
said that while walking to his municipal office, four
criminals attacked him in broad daylight. He said the
Sharbahara typically operate in larger groups of up to 16
people, use iron bars to subdue their victims, and then
"slaughter" their victims by slitting their throats. Echoing
others that poloff spoke with, he complained that the
Sharbahara operated with impunity owing to the remoteness of
the area, the lack of sufficient police, and the inability of
the government to exert its authority. As the Chairman of a
fast growing municipality, he complained that he has the same
number of staff they had six years ago.


8. (C) Rahman reported that during the night while poloff was
in Rajshahi, a known Rajshahi-based JMB supporter was killed,
but that it was not terrorism, only retribution. The
supporter, whom Rahman named as Omar Ali, was at one time a
Sharbahara, but switched to JMB. Now that the police are
actively pursuing JMB, Rahman said, the Sharbahara returned
to kill JMB and their supporters.


9. (C) When JMB first launched their attacks against the
Sharbahara, many of the residents supported the JMB, said
Rahman. But by mid-2004, "JMB started to do bad things and
started to attack innocent people," and caused the populace
to distance themselves from the JMB. He added that he saw no
difference between JMB and Bangla Bhai, additional police are
needed to comb the area, RAB-5 based in Rajshahi should be
re-deployed to remote areas, and that the local police forces
are insufficient for the job.


10. (C) Asked about the whereabouts of JMB, Rahman claimed
that local people and local police all know where JMB
terrorists are located, but keep quiet for fear of
retribution. He said that a number of local people have
sought legal firearms but firearms are only permitted to
those who can prove they have paid 200,000 taka (3,300 USD)
in taxes, an enormous sum by Bangladeshi standards.


11. (C) In response to poloff's question about national
elections, Rahman said that despite the economy gradually
improving, crime and law and order issues are the major
concern in the Rajshahi area. "Many people are afraid of
both groups of hoodlums," and are afraid of walking even in
daylight, he said. Rahman showed poloff the place where he
had been assaulted by Sharbahara, a wide open street near his
home. He asked, "If a government officer is not safe here,
how can the average citizen feel safe?"


JMB SEEKS MEMBERS
=================


12. (C) Poloff met with Moqbal Hossain, Chairman of the
Sreepur Union Council. (The Union Council is the smallest
level of Bangladesh government.) Hossain said that he
considers April 1,2004, as the day that JMB emerged to fight
against the "leftist" Sharbaharas, also known as the PBCP
(Purbo Banglar Communist Party). Poloff talked to him at his
home, accessible only after a 15-minute walk from the nearest
road, and surrounded by his relatives, who he said are there
for mutual protection.


13. (C) Hossain told poloff that JMB tried to recruit him and
then when he refused, tried to assassinate him. Before JMB
started their vigilante campaign in 2004, Hossain said that
JMB's Bangla Bhai and Abdur Rahman called and asked him to
join them. Hossain said he met with them but refused, citing
that he was a AL supporter, so he can't join them. Both
approached him again and insisted. Rebuffed a second time,
they then asked for a financial contribution of 20,000 taka,
and he refused. Soon afterward, Hossain said, JMB kidnapped
one of the Union's commissioners (town board member),taking
him to their training camp. Hossain said that he went to the
camp, taking 25,000 taka with him for ransom. They had
tortured the commissioner by hanging him from his arms for
hours, and intended it to be a message to others who do not
join them.


14. (C) Later, on February 22, 2005, Hossain said he was
returning home from his Union office, 12 people assaulted
him. Hossain said that he escaped by jumping into a pond as
the JMB fired weapons at him. People in a nearby mosque
heard the gunshots and using the loudspeaker warned the
townspeople that their Chairman had been attacked. The
fleeing attackers hurled bombs, but three of them were
captured by villagers, with one villager dead. Hossain said
that police did nothing, even though he gave their names of
his attackers to police.


15. (C) Hossain recounted that when JMB began their attacks
on the Sharbahara, the local townspeople were elated.
However, within weeks, the JMB started to demand money from
the townspeople for protection. While police at first helped
and cooperated with JMB in their campaign against the
Sharbahara, now, "we really don't understand" if police are
still working with JMB cadres.



BNP/JI SUPPORTS JMB?
====================


16. (C) Sociology professor Mizanuddin described the Rajshahi
area as a BNP stronghold (the BNP controls 10 of 11 Rajshahi
city Parliamentary seats),and said that at first the BNP
wanted to use the Sharbahara leftists to control the area
politically through intimidation, but later lost control of
them. The BNP then created the JMB as a replacement for the
leftists, he said.


17. (C) Asked about JMB's ties with the BNP coalition
partner Jamaat Islami (JI),Professor Mizanuddin described JI
as being a "smart" political party, as they never are
directly connected to any terrorist group, but use their
influence and power to establish relationships and
infrastructure for the support of terrorists. He said that
they built and rent out houses, built hospitals, and employed
people in order to have a network of supporters. "Ten
percent of the people support them" as they are very
organized with a tightly knit system, he said. They
established this underground support system as a result of
the war of liberation when JI, going against popular
sentiment, refused to support the war against Pakistan, and
were "forced to go underground." Many of JI's methods and
contacts were forged during this time, he said.


18. (C) Union Council Chair Hossain said that as far as he
was concerned, JMB and JI are the same. He said that many of
the local JMB cadres, when JMB was banned by the government,
simply told people that there were not JMB but JI. He
alleged that the police and BNP government forces know where
JMB supporters are and where Bangla Bhai can be found. He
said that he told local police where the three JMB training
camps were located, but they did nothing. He charged that
even the local press know of the whereabouts of JMB cadre but
do nothing. He said that he once told police where cadres
were operating but it was hours later that police acted, and
by then the cadres were gone. He said that BNP ministers
protect JMB, alleging that they gave direct orders to JMB
cadres. He said that while everyone knows who attacked him,
nothing has been done to arrest the perpetrators, some of
whom were Sharbahara and now part of JMB. When asked about
Ahle Hadith involvement with JMB, he said that while some JMB
may be Ahle Hadith members, not all of Ahle Hadith support
JMB.


19. (C) When poloff asked Deputy Inspector General of Police
Bahural Alam who supported JMB, he responded that captured
JMB followers said their main source of funds was from thefts
of NGOs during 2001 through 2004. Now it is from tolls and
protection money. He added that many JMB were angry at NGOs
that provided micro-credit to women, enabling the women to
earn cash, stirring jealousies among the men. He estimated
that there were about 8,000 to 10,000 JMB
supporters/sympathizers nation-wide and that madrasahs and
mosques were the prime recruiting ground for the young 20-ish
men. He said that the items his men have found were made in
India and smuggled into Bangladesh along the many foot and
cattle paths in this area. He showed samples of chemicals
(e.g. Pyric Acid and Lead Nitrate) seized in raids which can
be easily found in local shops, he said. He believed that
the Sharbahara and the JMB members "switched camps" in an
informal way. He described it as the Sharbahara members
would approach JMB members and in a "I like your work manner"
offer to cooperate. Only appointed recently, he said that if
knew the location of JMB members now, he would certainly
arrest them.


20. (SBU) Comment: Poloff's interlocutors freely used "JMB"
to refer to both JMJB, Bangla Bhai, and its related
organization, JMB. Some changes have come to Rajshahi. FSN
accompanying poloff remarked that there are a lot more
bridges over the Padma River now then even ten years ago. Now
many of the mud houses have galvanized roofs, and bananas,
rather than sugar cane and jute, are being grown for cash
CHAMMAS