‘Absence of rule of law, basic rights creates grounds for militancy’
A group of security analysts and jurists said on Wednesday absence of the rule of law, taking away fundamental rights and barrier to politics help breed militancy.
They said militancy is a global phenomenon.
Addressing a roundtable discussion on militancy, they urged home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was the chief guest at the discussion, to first take measures to ensure the rule of law, uphold basic rights and allow practice of politics.
The home minister, however, has ascribed the rise of militancy in Bangladesh to a conspiracy of local and international quarters and asked the security analysts to keep the “fact that there is local and international conspiracy behind the militancy” in view while analysing issues of militancy.
Daily Prothom Alo organised the roundtable at its office in the city’s Karwan Bazar with the participation of security experts and representatives from different quarters including youth.
“There is a conspiracy [behind the rise of militancy]. There is a conspiracy of local and international quarters,” said the minister.
In response to different proposals made by the experts at the programme, the minister said the government has both short and long term plans to combat militancy.
“Look, the police are changing. We can’t change everything overnight. We don’t have a magic wand to change things overnight,” said the minister in reference to the discussants’ call to first ensure rule of law to prevent youth being misguided towards militancy.
Speaking on the occasion, Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) president ANM Muniruzzaman, also a retired major general, termed the problem of militancy a national crisis and asked the authorities to deal with the issue rising above political views.
He termed measures being taken by the authorities temporary ones and urged the home minister to prepare a counter-terrorism framework.
“Terrorism is an operational product of a long process. It’s not a police-like problem. It’s a social and psychological problem. You need to involve civil society to combat it.”
Muniruzzaman also called on the home minister to not kill the militants in crossfire. “You should not kill all militants in shooting. You must not break the rule of law.”
He called for convening a broad-based social dialogue taking representatives from quarters to work out a long-term solution to the crisis.
Praising government efforts to fight terrorism, senior jurist Shahdeen Malik stressed the need for properly developing student politics.
“You have kept no alternative space. We are creating scope for breeding militancy by putting moratorium on student politics.”
He termed the government measures to fight militancy “high-handed ones” and said such measures do not sustain for long. “We have forgotten law. We have stamped out law by taking high-handed measures.”
The senior lawyer of the Supreme Court said, “No circumstance can be taken as an excuse to take away people’s fundamental rights.”
“Applying our short-sighted thinking, we are throwing the constitution into the dustbin. If we drop the constitution, then we should do it openly with declaration. There is no need to do so furtively.”
Referring to a recent remark of the prime minister that a “law should be enacted to try those who patronised the war criminals”, Shahdeen Malik said, “It would have been good if the prime minister read the constitution. Let us throw away the constitution.”
“The international human rights declaration stipulates that certain basic things can be ignored under no circumstances. There would have no offence called war crimes had it been possible to ignore...”
Citing examples of different countries, the jurist said the more you kill people in crossfire the more the society will be violent.
He further said, “We are creating scope continuously for militancy by stopping politics.”
East West University registrar Ishfaq Ilahi Chowdhury, also a retired air commodore, termed the militancy a global phenomenon and called for a long-term campaign against militancy.
Lawyer and right activist Sultana Kamal, who was also an adviser to a former caretaker government, said problems in the political and social structures are giving rise to the militancy.
“The law should be applied equally,” she added.
Former election commissioner Sakhawat Hussain, also a retired brigadier general of Bangladesh army, called for setting up a focal point in the government to bring uniformity in government’s position.
“Things have reached such a stage that Quran is considered a jihadi book. The government must look into these affairs.”
Speaking on the occasion as a representative from the youth, a third-year student of Comilla Alia Madrasa, Mohammad Jubaer, alleged that the rise of militancy is causing a huge damage to the religion itself.
“People become panicked whenever they see their children practising Islam. This is worrying.”
He alleged he is to undergo severe security scanning due to his Islamic outlook, compared to that of his friends.
A freshly emerged graduate of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Kashfia Nehrin urged the authorities to stop being in denial mood and to ensure equal application of law.
“You must acknowledge the existence of IS first. Then you should find a remedy to it,” she added.
Prothom Alo associate editor Abdul Qayyum moderated the programme.
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