BANGLADESH'S NEW INTEL CHIEF PROMISES ENHANCED CT

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000486

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/INSB, S/CT, AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2019
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV PINR PINS KDEM PHUM BG
SUBJECT: BANGLADESH'S NEW INTEL CHIEF PROMISES ENHANCED CT
COOPERATION

Classified By: CDA A.I. GEETA PASI. REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D)

SUMMARY
========


1. (S) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed DGFI to
focus on counterterrorism issues and work closely with the
U.S. Government, according to Director General Mollah Fazle
Akbar. Akbar emphasized that DGFI would no longer support
efforts by extremists to enter the political arena. Akbar
added that Bangaldesh's intelligence agencies were trying to
improve their relationship with India and streamline their
own internal communications. Akbar acknowledged strong USG
concerns about reports of deaths in custody of detained
Bangladesh Rifles mutineers.

DESIRE TO WORK WITH US
======================


2. (S) During an 11 May meeting, Directorate General of
Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Director General Major General
Mollah Fazle Akbar told the Ambassador and RAO Counselor that
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had made it clear DGFI would
focus on counterterrorism issues and work closely with the
U.S. Government. Akbar said he intended to increase
cooperation with the U.S. Embassy and wanted to obtain
training for his counterterrorism officers. Akbar said the
Prime Minister directed him to bring new officers not tainted
from their involvement in anti-corruption and political
activities during the State of Emergency in to DGFI. As such,
many of his new officers had no intelligence or
counterterrorism training and he was relying on the U.S. to
help DGFI's counterterrorism capacity building. The
Ambassador thanked Akbar for DGFI's cooperation on CT issues
during the past six months, noting he had observed a
significant upswing in DGFI activity since the departure of
several senior DGFI officers in late 2008. The Ambassador
underscored the need for close coordination with the RAO
Counselor and Indian Government as the terrorism threat in
Bangladesh effected the entire region.

No Support for Extremists Joining Politics
==========================================

3. (S) Akbar said that when he joined DGFI in February 2009,
the Prime Minister told him that under no circumstance was
DGFI to politically or financially support Islamic militant
groups as had been the case when members of
Harakat-ul-Jihah-Islami-Bangladesh (HUJI-B) floated the DGFI
backed Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) in late 2008. He added
the Prime Minister expressed her displeasure with DGFI's role
in creating the IDP, as the core leadership of the IDP was
associated with HUJI-B members who had tried to kill her in

2004.

Islamic Militants still a Concern
=================================

4. (S) The Ambassador asked Akbar for his assessment of the
current threat posed by Jama'atul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB).
Akbar said the JMB threat had not disappeared and the group
was reorganizing. That said, the government assessed JMB was
not close to conducting attacks in Bangladesh. When asked
about JMB's alleged plan to assassinate opposition Bangladesh
Nationalist Party leader Khaleda Zia prior to the December
2008 parliamentary election, Akbar appeared not to know about
the incident, although he acknowledged JMB may have wanted to
influence the election. Nevertheless, he noted, JMB had
failed to do that. Akbar added the government was keeping
known JMB members under "close surveillance."

Slow but Improving Relationship with India
==========================================

5. (S) Akbar touched briefly on DGFI's relationship with
India's Research and Analysis Wing. Akbar said that for a
variety of reasons the relationship had never been good.
Acting on guidance from the Prime Minister, Akbar and his
subordinates were meeting more frequently with Indian
intelligence representatives and information sharing on
terrorism suspects was on the rise, particularly with regards
to members of Pakistan-militant groups operating in
Bangladesh.

Security Service Coordination Improving but Barriers Remain
============================================= ==============

6. (S) The Ambassador asked Akbar for his views on Bangladesh

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Intelligence Community reform and praised DGFI's
participation in twice monthly inter-agency security
coordination meetings organized by the Home Affairs Ministry.
The Ambassador and RAO Counselor noted the lack of sharing
among Bangladesh's security/intelligence organizations
hampered efficient use of scare resources and more
coordination and sharing of information was required,
especially at the working level. Akbar agreed stove piping
was a problem and said his goal was to push information down
to his subordinates and out to other organizations. He also
said he supported increased cooperation among Bangladesh's
security organizations in the field, not just at the
headquarters level. In response to the Ambassador's question
on the existence of secure electronic communications among
Bangladesh's security/intelligence organizations, Akbar said
no such system existed. Historically, there was no
interconnectivity due to compartmentalization and internal
security concerns, but Akbar agreed such a system could be
useful in the future as cultural barriers on the sharing of
information were broken down.

Regret over Custodial Deaths of Bangladesh Rifles Jawans
============================================= ===========

7. (S) The Ambassador raised the U.S. Government's serious
concern with the number of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) jawans who
had died in Bangladesh Government custody since the
implementation of "Operation Rebel Hunt" in early March.
Akbar gave an overview of some of the deaths and said that
several older jawans had legitimately died of natural causes
or suicide. Akbar also acknowledged aggressive interrogation
techniques by young officers from the army, navy, and air
force had led to the deaths of some of the jawans. In an
effort to quickly interview the 7-8,000 jawans in custody,
the government had pulled in dozens of military officers to
participate in the interrogations. These officers had no
interrogation experience and had exceeded their authorities
during the interrogations. The government now realized its
mistake and the Prime Minister had shared with Akbar her
concern about the custodial deaths. He added the government
had put the word out that the deaths must stop. Akbar was
emphatic on the issues of DGFI's involvement in the
interrogations and stated no DGFI officers were involved or
present in any of the cases where the BDR jawans died while
in custody.

COMMENT
=======


8. (S) The improvement in our relationship with DGFI begun
following the Mumbai attacks has continued since the Awami
League government took office in January. The new Director
General has received clear marching orders to take DGFI in a
new direction and the USG should support his efforts to
professionalize the agency. Our message regarding deaths in
custody of BDR detainees has registered with DGFI and other
senior GOB officials. We expect to see a change in how the
GOB handles these detainees.
PASI