BANGLADESH SCENESETTER FOR DRL DEPUTY ASSISTANT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000539

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR DRL DAS BARKS-RUGGLES FROM AMBASSADOR MORIARTY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BG
SUBJECT: BANGLADESH SCENESETTER FOR DRL DEPUTY ASSISTANT
SECRETARY BARKS-RUGGLES

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

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Your visit to Bangladesh comes at a critical juncture
in the Caretaker Government's term. The Government begins on
May 22 a dialogue with the political parties to set the stage
for Parliamentary elections in the third week of December, to
institutionalize reforms initiated by the Government, and to
ensure the Government's safe exit following elections.
Imprisoned former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda
Zia maintain great influence in their respective parties, and
calls for them to be released are increasing from their
supporters. Many are suspicious about the Army's political
role and criticize its interference in the internal affairs
of the parties and in the media. Others fear a return to the
status quo ante and the violent "winner-take-all" political
culture. We continue to emphasize the need for the Government
to adhere to its election roadmap and to international norms
of justice and human rights, while also addressing the basic
needs of Bangladesh's population. We have urged the
Government to relax the State of Emergency, which the Chief
Adviser has agreed to do gradually. We have called upon the
political parties to play a responsible role in helping to
set conditions for elections by the end of the year. Your
visit follows by two weeks that of State's Coordinator for
Counterterrorism Ambassador Dell Dailey, which will provide
an opportunity to continue to promote the importance of
transparency and accountability in law enforcement agencies.
In particular, you will be able to assess how the USG can
help the Rapid Action Battalion, Bangladesh's lead force in
the fight against terrorism, further improve its human rights
performance.

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DEMOCRACY
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2. (C) The Caretaker Government (CTG) came to power in
January 2007, the day after a State of Emergency was declared
to quell political violence that was spinning out of control
in the run-up to Parliamentary elections. The CTG, made up of
11 non-political advisers and strongly supported by the
military, cancelled the elections and began cracking down on
endemic political corruption and violence. The crackdown
initially won broad public support, but frustration with the
Caretaker Government spilled onto the streets in late August;
at that point a dispute at Dhaka University between students
and soldiers became a rallying point for thousands of
Bangladeshis disaffected by inflation, other economic woes
and restrictions on political activity. The Government
stopped the protests by imposing a curfew backed up by a show
of force from the army. Government leaders acknowledged
privately the need to stick to the election roadmap, to open
up political discourse, and to communicate more effectively
with the public.


3. (C) Bangladeshis welcomed an easing of the ban on
politics and the initiation of formal dialogue between the
Election Commission and the parties on political reform in
September 2007. The relaxation of the ban threw internal
party disputes into sharp relief. The most visible struggle
is within the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),which
governed the country from 2001 to 2006 under former Prime
Minister Khaleda Zia. The Awami League, the other major
party, also has experienced internal strife between reformers
and loyalists to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but has
maintained a public show of unity. Army Chief General Moeen
Uddin Ahmed repeatedly has stated he has no political
ambitions, even as he assumes by default a higher public
profile than the Chief Adviser, who is the top official in
the Caretaker Government. General Moeen's term as Army Chief
recently was extended by one year, to June 2009.


4. (C) The Caretaker Government marked its first anniversary
in January with a broad shake-up. Five widely respected
Bangladeshis took the place of advisers who resigned under
pressure after a series of missteps contributed to the
Government's eroding popularity. Five special assistants to
the Chief Adviser also have been named to help the overworked
Council manage its ambitious agenda. These changes have
helped make the Caretaker Government more effective, but the
Government remains weak.

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5. (C) In the midst of the political jockeying, voter
registration continues in preparation for national elections.
While the mechanics of holding elections seem to be largely
on track, there is still much debate about an "exit strategy"
for the Caretaker Government and the military, who want to
ensure a newly elected government maintains reforms and
refrains from settling scores. They fear retribution from a
resurgent political class that has been the main target of
the anti-corruption campaign.


6. (C) In a nationally broadcast speech May 12, the Chief
Adviser announced that Parliamentary elections would take
place the third week of December. He also announced a
relaxation of restrictions on political activity to
facilitate campaigning and called for a national charter to
improve governance. He said government dialogue with
political parties would start May 22 to resolve major
stumbling blocks to establishing a basic framework for
elections and transfer of power. One major sticking point is
the corruption cases against the two former prime ministers,
which have languished in court for a multitude of reasons,
including legal maneuvers by the lawyers for the accused and
apparent difficulties in effectively marshaling evidence
against the two ladies. The result is that the Awami League,
the BNP and at least one other political party have demanded
the release of the imprisoned former Prime Ministers in the
run-up to dialogue with the Caretaker Government. At the
same time, there is much speculation about the role of the
Bangladesh military in engineering the dialogue and its
outcome.

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HUMAN AND LABOR RIGHTS
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7. (C) The Emergency Powers Rules of 2007 (EPR) suspends many
fundamental rights, including freedom of press, freedom of
association and the right to bail. Journalists complain of
frequent attempts by army intelligence to influence news
coverage, and they say the interference has led to widespread
self-censorship. The anti-corruption drive initiated by the
government, while greeted with popular support, has given
rise to concerns about due process.


8. (U) Trafficking in persons remains a serious problem
affecting men, women and children. Men seeking work abroad as
expatriate labor in countries such as Malaysia and the Middle
East find themselves in exploitative situations of forced
labor. Women and children are trafficked internally for
commercial sexual exploitation. Labor conditions remain a
concern in Bangladesh's huge ready-made-garment industry,
although significant progress has been made in the past year
in the Export Processing Zones. The U.S. Trade
Representative's ongoing General System of Preferences review
is looking at labor conditions in garment factories, EPZ
compliance with labor laws and child labor in the shrimp
industry.

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COUNTERTERRORISM, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RAB
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9. (C) Although Bangladesh is a moderate Muslim-majority
nation, its porous borders -- particularly its maritime
borders -- make it a potential transit point and safe-haven
for terrorists. The USG funds many programs in Bangladesh to
counter terrorism, including a wide range of training under
the Anti-Terrorist Assistance program coordinated by the
State Department. The lead counterterrorism force in
Bangladesh is the Rapid Action Battalion, whose members are
recruited from the police and military for two-year tours.
The RAB played a pivotal role in the crackdown on the
Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB),an extremist
organization responsible for 450 simultaneous explosions
around the country in 2005 and a subsequent bombing campaign
that terrorized the nation. So far, the USG has refrained
from engaging the RAB because of human rights concerns,
particularly in the years immediately following its formation
in 2004. RAB's human rights record has improved signficantly
under the Caretaker Government, during which the number of
reported extrajudicial killings has plummeted. A recent
analysis of reported RAB extrajudicial killings since the
Caretaker Government came to power found one of 12 RAB
battalion's responsible for nearly one-third of the deaths

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while six battalions together accounted but for a fraction.
During the first two weeks of March the United Kingdom
provided human rights training to RAB to build on the
positive trend.


10. (C) In light of the improved record, the Embassy is
proposing a strategy for engaging the RAB that would advance
counterterrorism goals while addressing USG human rights
concerns. Under the proposal, a USG interagency team would
assess the training needs of the RAB, focusing first on human
rights issues such as rules of engagement, accountability and
transparency. A timely decision about engaging the RAB would
ensure the training begins under the auspices of the
Caretaker Government, which has demonstrated its commitment
to fighting terrorism and improving the human-rights
performance of law enforcement organizations.

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YOUR VISIT
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11. (C) Your visit will underscore USG support for a peaceful
transition in Bangladesh by the end of 2008. In your
meetings with the Government, you should emphasize adherence
to the elections roadmap, encourage the ongoing political
dialogue and urge a relaxation of the state of emergency.
You also should urge the political parties to act responsibly
to make the return to democracy a success. In meetings with
labor officials you should stress engaging with workers'
rights organizations. Your meetings with the RAB will provide
an opportunity to assess its commitment to fighting terrorism
and the prospects for further improving its human rights
record with USG assistance.
Moriarty