WORK STOPPAGE AGAINST FOREIGN ENERGY COMPANIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 000897 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR SCA/INSB E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2019 TAGS: PINS PGOV ENRG EPET EINV BG SUBJECT: WORK STOPPAGE AGAINST FOREIGN ENERGY COMPANIES FIZZLES Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) A fringe group opposing the development of Bangladesh's natural resources failed to garner widespread support for its September 14 work stoppage, or hartal. The National Committee to Protect Oil, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports called the hartal to protest a Government of Bangladesh (GOB) decision to sign offshore oil exploration agreements with international oil companies, including U.S. firm ConocoPhillips. None of Bangladesh's main political parties took to the streets, which meant the hartal was nothing more than a low-key protest. Though this hartal, the first in nearly three years in Bangladesh, fizzled, stronger opposition groups may once again in the future choose to use hartals, a traditional and sometimes violent tool, against the GOB. Hartal Fizzles; Slight Property Damage -------------- ¶2. (U) The National Committee to Protect Oil, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports (the Committee) is a minor, but vocal, opponent of the development of Bangladesh's natural resources, particularly investment in the energy sector by foreign companies. The Committee has focused its ire on the GOB's decision to grant oil and gas exploration rights in the Bay of Bengal to two international companies, U.S. firm ConocoPhillips and Ireland's Tullow. Following a recent small protest that gained headlines because police were heavy-handed in blocking demonstrators, the group called for a half-day work stoppage, or hartal, on September 14. ¶3. (SBU) Activists from inconsequential leftist parties and some Dhaka University students made up most of the small crowd of pickets during the hartal. The pickets attempted to close two areas of downtown Dhaka, close to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). (Note: During a phone call with Poloff on a separate issue, MFA officials seemed more concerned about the imminent departure of the Foreign Minister to Washington than about what was happening nearby. End Note.) The small group chanted slogans supporting the hartal. The pickets successfully stopped traffic in their immediate vicinity, but traffic elsewhere in Dhaka remained normal. Shops opened as usual, and business was not affected by the hartal, a marked difference from past hartals. Some activists also burned copies of a local newspaper, Prothom Alo, which had criticized the call for a hartal. An observer also noted that activists broke windows in four to five vehicles. The hartal ended without major incidents at noon. The Committee issued an ultimatum giving the GOB 30 days to scrap the exploration agreements by October 15 or the Committee would act on October 16. BNP Support for Hartal -------------- ¶4. (C) Begum Zia's deputy, BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain, expressed "moral support" for the protestors, though BNP activists did not participate in the hartal. Delwar Hossain said his party would resist the government's "conspiracy of protecting foreigners' interest." The Embassy registered with BNP contacts its strong disapproval of Hossain's statements. We stressed that it did not make sense for the BNP to support a hartal against developing the energy and power resources Bangladesh desperately needs with the help of international oil companies, including U.S. firms. We also deplored the BNP's support for the return to hartals, which historically have been violent and counter-productive, over constructive dialogue. MORIARTY