Surviving From The Assassination Attempt on "Democracy of Bangladesh"
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What else is left for us? This is the question of eminent journalist,
Ataus Samad. Although, on 21st August, 2004, it was a massive grenade
and sniper attack on a protest rally centrally organized only by
Awami League herself, the major opposition political party of
Bangladesh, who are nonetheless also engaged in confrontational
politics with the Government as alleged, but the way the attack was
organized in broad daylight to annihilate the top leadership of the
oldest and major democratic political party of the country, no more
limits the bounds of violence contained within the agenda of partisan
conflict but emanates beyond the boundary, where with the extent of
rise of intolerance and extremism in Bangladesh in one hand, and with
the extent of apathy, inaction and inefficiency of the Government on
the other, the question of the very existence of democracy in
Bangladesh, should arise.

Bangladesh has long seen the clashes of muscle powers of the partisan
confrontational politics of the major political parties.
Additionally, in the recent history of Bangladesh, the intractable
insurrection of the underground religious fundamentalist groups and
other anti-democratic self-proclaimed radical communist extremist
forces, in tandem was making them visible not only with prominence
but established their defiance to the rule of law perpetrating series
of violence, unchecked since 1999.

When those radical extremists could not be nabbed or contained by the
successive regimes, serious doubt of the presence of their friendly
forces in the Government machinery engaged in clandestine
conspiracies for defeating the very sense of purpose of the
responsibility of the Government, also should arise. The unsolved
mysteries of those exalted series of unabated and heinous acts of
minority and human right violence, murder, assassination, illegal
arms haul and organized crime, no doubt fulfilled the object of those
larked elements for complacently painting the unqualified sludge
marks on the face of the political leaderships running the Government
including the democratic political leadership of the country, but
also proving emergence of their unlimited power of manipulation over
and above the strength of the incumbent law enforcing agencies and
the Government machinery as a whole.

Terrorist bomb or grenade attacks in any public gathering, a cultural
function or a cinema hall, political party meetings, a religious
prayer place of any sect or a holy shrine, was never in vogue in the
history of Bangladesh. All that started from cultural function of
Udichi in Jessore, followed by Ahmadiyyas Mosque in Khulna, Paihla
Baisakh programme at Bat-tala, carrying on to CPB's public meeting at
Paltan; the insurgency of the nexus of anti-democratic, extremist
radical leftist and communal religious terrorist forces began their
attacks following the same pattern and the same game plan since 1999.
That also included an assassination attempt on Sheikh Hasina at
Kotalipara public meeting, planting a time bomb at the venue of the
public meeting, where she was scheduled to address a rally, when she
was the Prime Minister.

Not spared then on was the Christian Church at Maksudpur. The prayer
was going on. The planted time delayed bomb blasted. Shattering the
prayer hall, killing the devotees. Eighteen left the World to the
life unknown, while praying to God for their salvation.

But, without showing any political pragmatism, the then opposition
political party BNP mistakenly brushed off all those acts of
conspiracies stating them as drama staged by Awami League Government.
Awami League Government's attempt to nab the fundamentalist and the
extreme leftists criminals were made to frustrate when they took
leeward shelter holding connivance with BNP, while they were in
opposition. Hence, BNP at that time chose to take the position of not
extending any hands of support to the Government but on the contrary
waged stiff political campaign against the Government bringing
charges of political harassment, proving more than ever at that time
their clandestine political alliance with those fundamentalist
forces. But, BNP imprudently forgot that, those radical elements
could never be real friend of the political forces that have trust in
democracy. On the other hand, BNP wanted to cash the agenda of
violence implicating failure of the AL Government to use it to gain
advantage at the time of the upcoming election to gather votes.

Hence, later on, during the October 2001 national election, blaming
AL all-out for failure to curb terrorism and violence and making the
cardinal pledge to act seriously and sincerely to curb terrorism and
violence, BNP lured the votes of the innocent people who were looking
for end of terrorism and violence, succeeding to secure majority of
the seats in the Parliament to ascend in power.

But, after the Jote Government came to power in 2001, the terrorist
activities including that with the newer dimension involving attack
on a foreign dignitary, the 16th one in the series of violence
occurred at the Holy shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal. The High
Commissioner of Great Britain was injured badly, killing three others
at the spot. One of them was a police official.

Earlier on, the terrorists had then blasted time-delayed bombs at
four cinema halls at Mymensingh. The shows were packed. The bombs
took all the four cinema halls within a time difference of few
minutes, killing at the spot, twenty-six. Those small district town
cinema halls playing Bangla movies are places of vice-less
entertainment for the lower middleclass, the toiling people of the
town or from suburb or out of the town nearby rural areas, just to
buy few hours of inexpensive moments of enjoyment. But BNP had blamed
all responsibility on the shoulder of AL, at that time thus to divert
the investigation from getting hold of the real culprits of the
crime, in other words to conspire to protect those heinous criminals.

Hence, the Jote Government thus also could not escape the
responsibility of their utter failure to curb the rise of these
religious extremist forces, while prominently it was rising to the
extent of attack on foreign dignitary. Indeed those criminals whether
were getting inspirations from BNP's own disastrous politicking of
erroneously blaming Awami League, in both the occassions while not in
power before 2001 and while in power after 2001, was not a million
dollar question, at all.

Eventually, against all those election pledges made by BNP, the
people of Bangladesh were witnessing the same terror and violence
occurring more in compounding rate and in multilayer multidimensional
fields. Massive scale of violence against the minority communities
were unleashed by the radical communalists immediately after the BNP
and their communal allies came out victorious in the election.

Then other than that attack on the British High Commissioner of April
2004, cruel assassinations and murders occurred in Khulna. Where the
prominent political leader Manjurul Imam, President of Khulna Press
Club, Humayun Kabir Balu and the eminent journalist Manik Saha, lost
their lives.

In Bagmara, Rajshahi, self-styled religious fundamentalist
authoritarian organization Jagrata Muslim Janata of Bangladesh (JMJB)
led by so-called "Bangla Bhai" instituted reign of terror torturing
hundreds and killing at least twenty innocent lives, in medieval
style of self-rule, defying the law enforcing authority of the
Government machinery.

In Bogra – thereafter at Kuril, Dhaka and in Chittagong, where at the
Government owned fertilizer factory, CUFL Jetty, huge caches of
smuggled arms consisting of sophisticated and latest small and medium
heavy arms were recovered. Till today, Government was unable to find
any credible clue to all those crimes. The failure of the Jote
Government in finding the clues and to nab the gangs no doubt
encouraged the criminals to demonstrate their strength of committing
more crimes in perpetuation.

Ahsanullah Master M. P. a very popular democratic political leader of
Gazipur, Dhaka was assassinated in broad daylight. Bombs were planted
that took quite few lives when it blasted in a public meeting
organized by Awami League in Sunamganj, Sylhet in attempt to kill but
injuring Suranjit Sen Gupta, a veteran political leader of the
country. In Sylhet town, grenade attacks were made on Mayor of
Sylhet, Mr. Kamran killing his associate Ibrahim. So many similar
incidents of crime and murders were going on unabated.

In this background, following to those most recent series of
lawlessness with bombs, grenades and gun attacks and assassinations,
Awami League declared this central programme to organize a protest
rally to commence from the central office at Bangabandhu Avenue,
Dhaka on August 21, 2004. Prior to the commencement of the rally,
thousands of leaders and workers of AL were packed on the road in
front of their central office. But, as soon as the President of Awami
League Sheikh Hasina was just finishing her speech before
commencement of the rally, a series of grenade and sniper attacks
rocked the place suddenly turning the place teeming with people into
a place strewn with severed bodies of human flesh and the broad
avenue drenched with blood.

So far, nineteen people have lost their lives including top women
leader of AL, Mrs. Ivy Rahman, and about three hundred are injured
undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Dhaka, out of whom many
have to live the rest of their lives with splinters embedded in their
flesh or without one or more limbs of their body.

Preliminary investigation shows about ten Austrian origins ARGES
brand hand grenades and of make apparently from Pakistani ordnance
factory were charged at 5.22 PM within 1.5 minutes including several
rounds of bullets from small arms causing 36 spots of damage from
splinters and bullets fired by the snipers on the bullet proof
vehicle of Sheikh Hasina. These hand grenades all were blasted in the
closest proximity of the truck podium from where the leader of the
opposition Sheikh Hasina was just finishing her speech. Military
experts opine that given the weight of the grenades and the average
manual throwing strength, those hand grenades were hurled from a
distance not more than 30-40 Meters. Surprisingly, three unexploded
grenades were recovered later on. One of them in front of Rony Sari
Bitan, the second one from the toilet located at the first floor of
nearby market and the third one from within the compound of Dhaka
Central Jail.

Apparently, all those grenades those blasted were charged from the
ground level and few snipers were also in operation hiding in the
crowd with small arms. But astonishingly all of members of the
criminal group escaped in chaos, putting big question mark on the
motive and efficiency of the members of police, particularly on the
members of the forces of intelligence agencies who were twenty in
number, deployed thereby on that date. The reason lies in the
culture, practice and attitude of the law enforcing agency to save
others from the members of the rally rather than protecting the
members of the rallying Awami Leaguers, who as citizens of this
country also had full right of demanding shelter and protection of
the law enforcing agencies from acts of violence and crime, which the
Government agencies do like to ignore in case of as and when they
were members of opposition rallies.

I do not claim that, Bangladesh was ever looked upon as a country
having strong democracy or economy to celebrate, or the major
political parties in power or in the opposition were free from
sheltering the criminals or the corrupts; or them, not engaged at all
in confrontational politics more engulfed with lust of power than to
struggle for the rights and demands of the people exerting sufficient
sincerity than the people had expected, these days.

The Government has condemned the heinous attack. Expressed their
deepest sympathy to the aggrieved families whose dear ones were lost
and extended prayers for early recovery of the injured ones. One
member judiciary investigation committee has been constituted headed
by a Justice of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. The
deputy minister in charge of the ministry of home affairs has pledged
most serious investigation and action to get hold of the culprits,
this time, with cooperation from international intelligence agencies
as offered and when found necessary.

In the backdrop of perpetual acts of terror and violence during the
last six years both at the time of Awami League Government and the
present one, the top most Government leaders apparently are in deep
realization, as well as under national and international pressure to
enter into dialogue and establish hands of cooperation with the
opposition to wage joint efforts against those radical extremist
forces who are claiming lives endangering the very existence and
functioning of democratic systems of governance of the country.

But, all these lip service of the Government would have found its
credibility if the past track record of them would have been found
satisfactory even touching the rock bottom level of efficiency and
sincerity, including that, if on 22nd August, 2004, the Ramna Police
Station would have received the complain registering criminal case of
the grenade attack orgy with due consideration of seriousness and
respect, from the hands of Jalil and Saber Chowdhury, the Secretary
General and the Political advisor of AL, respectively, who were the
direct eye witnesses of the crime and personally carried their letter
of complain to the Police Station.

The incident of 21st August, 2004 sharply meets us with the oblique
question, whether really still we are left to wait to witness
anything more, or for any further to happen but to wait to make the
clarion call to the committed democratic forces to arise now and
here, all united and not being late, with "rage and anger"? But,
against whom the "rage and anger" will be directed? Whether, but
only taking in isolation against the rising anti-democratic,
communal, fascist menace? Excluding the identified forces those
inspire, share and hold power incognito with the miserably
functioning and governing major partner of the Government and then
further, hence whether without and not implicating the Jote
Government as a whole for shear inaction and irresponsibility they
have demonstrated, so far?

Therefore, will it be wise and pragmatic moving slow showing
restrains and meticulous in choosing forces and mobilizing unity of
not all whomever makes their firm commitments against "communalism
and fascism", but to sit back on the sofas and armchairs indulging in
inconclusive polemics involving the history of past record or
credibility of the prospective forces who want to lend their hand for
united efforts or with whatever pseudo-intellectual discourses with
which we make those useless loss of our times?

With all these zero sum games of faulty exercises engaging ourselves
to look, analyze and ponder upon those normative angular
differentiates, wasting more of our time getting involved in those
fallacious of useless reasoning-- indeed great mistakes will be
committed by us and against the people of Bangladesh, with u-turn
made to return to the self-defeating path, eventually miserably
failing in bringing success to save the bit of democracy, secularism
and political stability of the nation that is now struggling to
survive from the worst danger of all times but facing annihilation.
This is exactly what, I want to caution.

Kofi Anan, Collin Powell, Jack Straw, et al including from Bush and
Blair to Tokyo and Beijing, all have expressed their unequivocal
condemnation but advised, to proceed with show of "restrain"-- I
know. Harry K. Thomas, and the members of EU Commission while met
Sheikh Hasina also did not hide their feelings, though deeply
sympathetic no doubt but wished to see cautious and meticulous steps
taken ahead with democratic cooperation between the Government and
the opposition, invoking the premises of the Parliament.

But, well this is our country, and we have fought to liberate it
once, and journeying on the thorny way fighting for democracy many
bloods have been spilled and thus the people of Bangladesh have known
and identified their friends and enemies through those bloody
struggles correctly as ever, and hence, should be left and let alone
to decide their path to chose to proceed, as they would do it
unmistakably right, without advise, dictates or threats coming from
turncoat friends or foes—this is also that, I would like to maintain.

Notwithstanding, lest we forget: democracy, how stumbling it looked
with weak functioning of parliament, but nonetheless it was looking
ahead to build culture of democratic cooperation between the
Government and the opposition, with recent joining of the opposition
in the parliament after long gap of boycott. Then it was also inching
ahead though too slow, to see the judiciary got separated from the
executive. With the rule of law strongly struggling to get itself
free from political influence with rise of social awareness. The
political arenas willing to get it survive out from the dominance of
muscle-power and plunderers of national wealth. Although topping
number one corrupt country in the World, but moving ahead for the
independent corruption commission on the way in making.

When, the members of alliance of the incumbent Government could not
at all claim them to be demonstrated free from the curse of deep
communal bias but on the contrary being deeply engaged in perpetual
contrivance to defeat the spirit of democracy, nevertheless, with the
bit of democracy and spirit of non-communalism that the main
opposition party was holding, despite with all those of their inner
contradictions, vacillations and weaknesses, the last stake of the
democracy and religious tolerance of Bangladesh, as a whole lived. In
this backdrop, the deep conspiracy staged with attempt of
annihilating the top ranking leadership of the main opposition
political party, Awami League, including the leader of the
opposition, with series of grenade and firings, on last August 21,
2004, was by far, could not be termed with any other words but other
than a premeditated, pre-planned, cold-blooded attempt for the demise
and ultimate burial of democracy and multi-religious tolerance that
however weak, notwithstanding survives, in Bangladesh.

At the hindsight the fact is nakedly exposed, it is the Government
alongwith all its wings and outfits of intelligence agencies who were
deliberately negligent for long enough already, hence nonetheless
tons of excuses and explanations may be presented, nonetheless stands
fully and unequivocally held responsible for failing to provide
security to the lives, which were lost with a count nearly 19 this
time and another 150 from the foregoing incidents, those bodies shall
never return. For them who survive, the last bit of confidence on
them is gone, and it is lost forever, beyond any conciliatory attempt
to return the trust, from whichever corner or quarter the futile
attempt might forward, and this makes the logic of unity of the rest
of all other democratic forces those remain, who wish to pledge
action to wipeout "communalism and terrorism" without any slightest
bit of compromise.

No doubt, it was an attempt of heinous repetition of 15th August,
1975, the bloodiest and blackest day in the history of Bangladesh, on
which date the father of Sheikh Hasina (current President of Awami
League and leader of the opposition in the parliament on whom the
similar attempt of assassination was made on this date of August 21,
2004), and the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman who was assassinated with his families and the top leaders of
Awami League of that time which buried democracy for long 15 years
and secularism, forever.

When later, although democracy got resurrected from the autocratic
rules of military-civil bureaucracy staging people's movement in
1990, reinstating parliamentary practice of democracy in the body
politic of Bangladesh, but communalism made its permanent stand on
the sacrosanct constitution and the sacred parliament. As the
heinous incident changed the political polarization of Bangladesh in
1975, at the hindsight, the heinous incident of 21st August 2004 must
also change the politics of Bangladesh. It cannot go on to continue
like the same as it was going before this grisly attack; they who
survive must affirm to make the same and this true.

The people of Bangladesh was witnessing that, the nexus of anti-
democratic, radical extremist leftist forces, hand in hand with the
religious communal fundamentalist forces and the killers of August,
1971, revived their conspiracy, right after Awami League was elected
to power in 1996, after 21 years of bitter struggle since the
assassination of the father of the Nation.

Anyway, when the British Ambassador was hit, we raised this question
to the Government, through the media at that time unmistakably, that
from "Udichi to Shahjalal", why these were the targets of the
terrorists? Who were they? What are their ideologies? Was there any
common thread to all these terrorist acts? Or, they were all isolated
incidences?

We reminded and cautioned then, and the Government should not have
ignored the truth at that time that, once the bombs behind which
seemed a definite thread of hitting our culture and heritage while
was getting loose with occurrences of violence one after another like
that inspired by the Government's inaction, then they would at a time
start hitting everything whichever the civilization creates.

One could obviously had asked and tried to find the answer fast by
oneself then, and which was not so difficult to find and identify the
culprits. But with all the good wishes extended to the Government we
had expressed our concern then, to extend our sincere disposition so
that the Government and its Home Minister would urgently remove the
blind away from their eyes because at that time it was the most
sacred duty of the Government to immediately run the wings and
outfits of their administration to find those answers by themselves
and act to solve those problems sincerely for the peace of mind of
the people, who elected them to undertake those responsibilities, but
which they did not. Hence, now one should not be more than sure with
the reason without being merely keep on suspecting any more to ponder
upon the question anymore as to, why they did not?

When the rise of JMJB lead by so called "Bangla Bhai' tortured and
murdered innocent lives in northern districts in the name of "Islamic
Social Movement", the Prime Minister herself gave order to arrest
Bangla Bhai and his collaborators, the Finance Minister was witness,
but the administration failed to carry out the order of the Prime
Minister. Does not that prove that the enemy was more powerful than
the Government? Does not that make sufficient ground for the PM who
is directly responsible for external defense and home security, to
step down and give way to those who can take responsibility to bring
those criminals to book?

In any case -- better late, than never. The daily Ittefaq, The
Observer and Prothom Alo and at many other at the receiving ends,
have received and still receiving now numbers of suspicious and life-
threatening e-mails. I do not want to go into those details here and
now. Because, people already know all those story and got wary from
those threatening mails, already for long.

But with all those so far those have happened, sufficiently proves
before us more strongly than ever that, this is the worst of the time
and this is the best of the time, as well. This is to call upon all
who wants to commit undaunted struggle against "communalism, crime,
violence and terrorism"; to affirm their pledge for democracy and
unite and to wage uncompromising struggle of the people's unity to
overthrow this inefficient, worthless, useless, unsuccessful Jote
Government comprising anti-democratic communal forces and the
protectors of killers of the national leaders and the intellectuals
and to replace it with a proper democratic, anti-communal, pro-
people, pro-liberation and pro-development Government, to pave the
way for a better Bangladesh.

Because, time is running out, and the enemies out there are planning
no less than to stage another 21st August as quickly as they would
find another chance as soon as and the vindictive order for go ahead
from their masters would be received and get ready to carry out their
mission, to kill the last bit of democracy and multi-religious
tolerance with which Bangladesh narrowly survived.

Afroza Begum
Dhaka, August 26, 2004