DHAKA EAC 03/19/09

S E C R E T DHAKA 000276 NOFORN DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA-SCA, DS/TIA, DS/TIA/ITA, DS/TIA/CC, DS/TIA/PII, SCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2029 TAGS: ASEC PINR PGOV BG SUBJECT: DHAKA EAC 03/19/09 Classified By: GEETA PASI, DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION, FOR REASONS 1.4 (b),(c),(d) ¶1. (SBU) On March 19, 2009, the Emergency Action Committee (EAC) met to review a March 18 town hall meeting held by the new DHAKA Metropolitan Police Commissioner with representatives of DHAKA schools in which he passed along threat related information. The DCM chaired the EAC and attendees included RSO, RAO, POL/ECON, DAO, CONS, USAID, MGT, PAO, CLO, PACOM Augmentation Team, and RLA. ¶2. (U) The EAC reviewed data obtained from yesterday's town hall meeting between school representatives and the newly appointed DHAKA Metropolitan Police(DMP) Commissioner, Abul Kalam Muhamed Shahidul. The RSO and an FSNI were in attendance, along with 150 representatives of private, international, and English language schools. The American International School of DHAKA (AIS/D) - the school mission children attend - also sent a representative. The DMP Commissioner said that he had received information suggesting that unidentified banned militant groups had threatened terrorist attacks against a wide range of civilian targets, including missionary schools, trade schools, international schools, private English language schools, etc. The EAC discussed the handout the police had disseminated at the meeting instructing schools to implement a number of precautions and remain vigilant regarding the security environment. ¶3. (C) The RSO briefed the EAC on his efforts to obtain a copy of the threat letter from the DMP Commissioner's office. The RSO learned that the DMP had not received any specific threat information or letter. The DMP noted, however, that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told them a threat existed. DMP is a sub-unit of the Home Ministry. ¶4. (S) The EAC reviewed Post's efforts in light of the rumors circulating about the possible threat to schools. Post reached out to a number of upscale Bangladeshi schools. All denied having received any threat letters or calls. At the same time, they confirmed they had heard rumors that other schools had received threat letters. RAO specified that his sources indicated they were unaware of any threat at this time. Based on this information, the EAC agreed that while there was no specific threat, the rumor mill had taken over. Many Bangladeshi parents now believed there was an actual threat. The head of Bangladesh's best private school confided that the parents of the school's well-heeled students were very concerned. The school had received many calls inquiring whether the parents should remove their kids from the facilities for security reasons. The DCM briefed the EAC on our efforts to coordinate with the Foreign Ministry. As soon as the DMP town hall meeting concluded yesterday, March 18, the DCM called the Chief of Protocol to register our concern about the terrorist threat that the Commissioner of DMP had communicated. The DCM reminded the Chief of Protocol that the host government was responsible for our security, noting that we were particularly alarmed by the Commissioner's inclusion of foreign missions as terrorist targets. He promised to investigate. After the EAC adjourned, the Chief of Protocol informed the DCM that the government took this matter very seriously. He said that he had passed this information to the Foreign Secretary and had instructed the MHA to follow up immediately. The DCM told the Chief of Protocol that many "foreign missions" (as roughly translated from Bangla) would have questions and concerns. She suggested the Foreign Ministry share its findings with all missions. He thanked us for sharing a copy of the handout from the DMP town hall, noting he had been unaware of the police initiative. ¶5. (C) The EAC agreed we should notify the community via security notice about the threats reported by police. The security notice would also explain that Post was unaware of any threat at this time. After the EAC concluded, Post received the AIS/D's parental notice about the situation, indicating the school had carefully reviewed its security posture and confirming that AIS/D had not received any threat. We included a link to AIS/D's website so readers could view AIS/D's notice. Consular will prepare a Warden Message to convey the same information to American Citizens. ¶6. (U) The EAC point of contact is the Regional Security Office, 880-2-885-5500, ext 2228, unclassified, 880-2-882-5947, ste. MORIARTY