BANGLADESH SCENESETTER FOR LTG FRIDOVICH, BG BOERA

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000069 SIPDIS FOR LTG FRIDOVIC, BG BOERA AND COL WHITE FROM THE AMBASSADOR E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2019 TAGS: PGOV PTER KREL BG SUBJECT: BANGLADESH SCENESETTER FOR LTG FRIDOVICH, BG BOERA AND COL WHITE Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) USG activities in Bangladesh are based on three pillars: democratization, development and denial of space to terrorists. Your visit comes at a critical juncture for U.S. relations with this strategically important, moderate, Muslim-majority nation of 150 million people. The new government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina swept to power in Parliamentary elections on December 29 and is beginning to flesh out its policies on issues of great importance to the USG. In your meetings with civilian and military leaders you will be able to emphasize USG eagerness to work with the new government on a whole range of issues, including expanding cooperation to improve Bangladesh's counterterrorism and military capabilities. -------------- DEMOCRACY -------------- ¶2. (U) Sheikh Hasna's Awami League won a landslide victory in Parliamentary elections December 29 after two years of rule by an appointed Caretaker Government whose mandate was to prepare for elections. During its tenure, the Caretaker Government cracked down on endemic political corruption and violence, and at one point imprisoned on graft allegations both Hasina and her main political rival, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Both were released to participate in the elections, which won wide acclaim for being the cleanest and most peaceful in Bangladesh's 38-year history. ¶3. (SBU) Prime Minister Hasina appointed a Cabinet notable for the absence of most of the party's Old Guard, including many politicians tainted by allegations of graft and violence, in favor of Ministers who are fiercely loyal to her. The huge landslide win will test her promise to break from the country's past "winner-take-all" politics and allow the opposition a meaningful voice in government. While the Awami League has offered to fill the post of deputy speaker of Parliament with a BNP lawmaker, it seems bent on destroying the country's main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami. Hasina's party has threatened to try Jamaat leaders as war criminals for their activities in support of Pakistan during the 1971 war of independence. It also is considering banning religious-based parties such as Jamaat. -------------- DENIAL OF SPACE TO TERRORISTS -------------- ¶4. (C) Bangladesh is a nation with porous borders -- air, land and maritime -- that make it an attractive transit point and safe-haven for terrorists. India in particular argues that international Islamic terrorists use Bangladesh as a safe haven and often cross into India for bombing and other attacks. New Delhi also says DHAKA should do more to uproot Indian domestic extremist groups, including the United Liberation Front of Assam, that India claims use Bangladesh as a safe haven. Sheikh Hasina has made clear that fighting extremists and improving regional counterterrorism cooperation would be a top priority for her administration. She has proposed creating a South Asia security task force; Embassy DHAKA wants to support those efforts, in part by funding regional security dialogues organized by prominent local think tanks. ¶5. (S/NF) To counter the transnational terrorist threat, Embassy DHAKA has recommended USG support for the creation of a Bangladesh Navy Special Operations Force, similar to US SEAL and Special Boat units. The Government of Bangladesh intends this unit to be a counterterrorism force that will address critical gaps in Bangladesh's maritime security capability. Transnational violent extremist organizations (such as Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism (IICT) priority one Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and IICT priority three Hizbul Mujhadin),transnational crime, drugs and human trafficking are currently exploiting these gaps to facilitate operations throughout South Asia. USG support for the creation of this new force is critical to denying space to terrorists. Additionally, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba is actively developing a maritime capability in order to infiltrate DHAKA 00000069 002 OF 003 India; Bangladesh is a particularly attractive maritime launching point for such infiltration efforts. ¶6. (C) The USG already funds many other programs in Bangladesh to counter terrorism, including a wide range of training under the Anti-Terrorist Assistance program coordinated by the State Department. USAID and Public Affairs Section programs address root causes of extremism through outreach to leaders of influence (including religious figures) and to madrassas. The USG also has started training the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB),whose history of alleged human rights violations prevented earlier engagement. The number of people reportedly killed in gun battles with RAB has decreased significantly since mid-2007, and the initial U.S. training is designed to further improve RAB's human rights record. Although some Awami League leaders view the RAB with suspicion because it was established by the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the RAB has become the country's most effective counterterrorism force and is best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. In your meetings with civilian leaders, you should stress the initial success of USG human rights engagement with RAB and the importance of continued training to ensure the RAB plays an effective, responsible role in the war against extremism. ¶7. (C) Your meeting with Chief of Army Staff Gen Moeen Uddin Ahmed will provide an opportunity to raise not only counterterrorism cooperation but also the importance of further professionalization of the Bangladesh military. Bangladesh is a top contributor to international peacekeeping operations and continued military-to-military cooperation between our two countries will help ensure Bangledeshi troops perform well as peacekeepers. In meetings with Moeen and other military and civilian leaders you should discuss the need for maintaining good relations between the civilian government and armed forces. Civil-military relations were poor during the last Awami League government in 1996-2001, which ended up limiting Hasina's scope for action. Discussions are underway within Hasina's administration over possible reforms to improve the structure for making national security decisions. -------------- DEVELOPMENT -------------- ¶8. (U) Your visit will come just days after the "America Week" program to promote bilateral relations in Barisal Division, which bore the brunt of Cyclone Sidr in November ¶2007. The cyclone killed thousands of people, destroyed the homes and livelihoods of millions, and left 2.3 billion USD of damage to infrastructure. As part of an interagency effort, the U.S. military played a crucial role in relief efforts by airlifting vitally needed water, food and emergency supplies to Bangladeshis in remote areas. However, the Government of Bangladesh and other international donors have not sustained the strong levels of assistance provided in Sidr's immediate aftermath, and millions of victims remain in need of aid to rebuild their lives. The 6.5 million USD budgeted by the Department of Defense for building cyclone shelters and schools in the affected areas thus is most welcome. This effort will dovetail nicely with plans for spending some 75 million USD in USAID funding appropriated by Congress for post-Sidr relief. 9, (SBU) On top of natural disasters, inflation -- particularly of food prices -- remains dangerously high for Bangladeshis, 86 percent of whom subsist on less than $2 a day. (Note: The Awami League promised in its campaign to make fighting inflation its top priority; prices for basic commodities such as rice skyrocketed during the Caretaker Government. End note.) Our assistance levels remain high -- some 150 million USD last year. More important, economic growth, fueled by ready-made garment exports, has surpassed 6% annually over the past six years. -------------- YOUR VISIT -------------- ¶10. (C) Thank you for making the effort to come to Bangladesh. The visit will highlight the importance the USG places on working constructively with Bangladesh on a wide range of issues. You will be meeting officials of a new government who are grappling with hugely important issues DHAKA 00000069 003 OF 003 such as how to improve regional counterterrorism cooperation and how to strengthen Bangladesh's own counterterrorism capabilities and civilian-military relations. Your visit will provide a unique opportunity to encourage the new government in this work and assure leading officials that the USG will continue a wide range of assistance in these and other critical areas. MORIARTY