SON OF SLAIN POLITICIAN OUTLINES HIS OWN POLITICAL

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001088

SIPDIS

DOJ FOR OPDAT BARBARA BERMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM PTER PINR KDEM ELAB BG
SUBJECT: SON OF SLAIN POLITICIAN OUTLINES HIS OWN POLITICAL
AMBITIONS

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

Summary
--------------


1. (S) Reza Kibria, son of slain Awami League leader Shah
AMS Kibria, said on October 8 that he continued to press
Bangladesh authorities to investigate properly his father,s
assassination. Kibria also told the Ambassador about his
aspirations to fill his father,s shoes as a Member of
Parliament and even as Finance Minister should the Awami
League win the December national elections. Kibria expressed
doubts, however, that elections would occur. Finally, he
noted the increasing involvement of Saudi Arabia in
Bangladeshi domestic affairs.

The Investigation
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2. (C) In an October 8 meeting, Reza Kibria updated the
Ambassador on the status of the investigation into his
father,s assassination. (NOTE: Awami League
parliamentarian and former Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria
and four others died in a January 2005 grenade attack at an
Awami League rally. END NOTE.) Despite September 2008 media
reports that Home Affairs Adviser M.A. Matin had ordered a
new investigation into the assassination, Kibria told the
Ambassador of his family's belief that Bangladesh police
continued to cover up the circumstances surrounding his
father's death. (NOTE: The Kibria family, including
Kibria's U.S.-based sister, consistently maintain that the
then-government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
played a role in the grenade attack that killed Shah AMS
Kibria. The family claims authorities have covered up the
BNP,s role in their various investigations of the incident.
END NOTE.)


3. (C) Kibria said only the involvement of international
bodies, for example the United Nations, could ensure a proper
and effective investigation. While complimentary of Adviser
Matin's leadership of the Home Ministry, Kibria was highly
critical of Matin's deputy, Home Secretary Md. Abdul Karim;
Kibria asserted that Karim was protecting a district
commissioner of police Kibria believed was implicated in his
father's death.

The Election
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4. (C) Kibria said he would run for Parliament in the
December elections, though he voiced concern that he faced a
higher risk of assassination given his father's fate. Kibria
expressed a need for effective protection since his own death
could act to delay the electoral process. He believed he
would win a seat in Parliament based on father's popularity.
However, Kibria went on to say he did not believe the
election would occur as scheduled. According to Kibria,
administrative and organizational deadlines and the
possibility of disruptions would prevent the election.
Finally, Kibria said free and fair elections would not occur
in Bangladesh until the prevalence of "black" money and
weapons declined.

Saudi Arabian Influence in Bangladesh
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5. (S) Kibria voiced concern about what he called the
growing influence of Saudi-funded groups in Bangladesh.
Without identifying his source, he claimed the Saudi Arabian
government pressured the Bangladesh judiciary to approve the
bail petition of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Motiur Rahmen Nizami,
who had been jailed on corruption charges. This pressure
allegedly took the form of threats to expel 500,000
Bangladeshi workers from Saudi Arabia if Nizami,s bail was
not granted. (NOTE: The courts granted Nizami bail in July

2008. END NOTE.)

Comment
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6. (C) The Embassy continues to press the Government of
Bangladesh for a full investigation of the attack that killed

DHAKA 00001088 002 OF 002


Shah AMS Kibria. On October 7 Embassy officials urged Home
Ministry officials to follow up promptly on the Home
Adviser,s order to re-investigate the crime. Reza Kibria,
an economist who has spent much of his professional career
abroad, spoke frankly about his political ambitions. Like
many current figures in both Bangladesh,s main political
parties, Kibria,s political credentials are based more on
his father,s prominence in the party than his own base of
support. Should Kibria and the Awami League prevail in
December, it is possible he would be granted a Cabinet
position, though some doubt that he could secure such a
significant role as Finance Minister.


Moriarty