By Ekram Kabir

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on March 6, 2005 said the real information about the grenade attacks and other bomb blasts would be unearthed if, in Hasina's words, the Prime Minister, her son and two ministers from Jamaat-e-Islami are interrogated. The opposition leader accused them of being the mastermind behind all the bomb blasts in Bangladesh.

On the same day, deputy secretary-general of Jamat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Kamruzzaman reportedly said: “Police will be able to find Bangla Bhai, if a few editors, including the one of The Daily Star, are quizzed”. He added: “Please interrogate those editors who report that Bangla Bhai is in Pakistan, Afghanistan so on and so forth.”

The blaming and counter-blaming game has not stopped there. Politicians from the ruling coalition have been heard to blame the opposition political parties for the bomb blasts in the country.

So, what can be done to solve the problem of terrorist activities in this maze of accusations and counter-accusations? What kind of role should the politicians play in quelling any sort of extremism in countries like Bangladesh?

Dr. Ajai Sahni, the Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management, Guwahati, says, “I don't really think politicians are going to provide the solutions until they find that the avenues of extremist mobilisation do not yield short-term political benefits.”

Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Executive Director, Institute for Secular Studies, Mumbai, says: “Politicians, more often than not aggravate extremism by exploiting extremism sentiments for grabbing power rather than curbing it. Religious extremism is more often used by politicians to obtain support from one or the other community.” He, however, adds: “Politicians can succeed in quelling extremism only if they succeed in promoting constructive programmes leading to poverty reduction and need-based development.”

Professor Serajul Islam Chowdhury agrees with this observation, saying that the responsibility of running a country is on their shoulders; they can make a real difference if they want to.” Professor Chowdhury strongly believes that it is only politicians who can put an end to these violent activities that seem to have engulfed the country.

The truth about this comment can be seen in the days after the former Finance Minister of Bangladesh was killed in a bomb attack on January 27. After that the top opposition politicians and intellectuals had reportedly been provided with armed security a decision that should have been taken much earlier. However, it is only after so many deaths and bloodsheds the government decided to provide bodyguards for politicians.

However, the people at large remain at various types of risks. The gunmen will protect the leaders and eminent persons of the country, but the commoners would still be risking their lives to unknown assailants who will explode bombs at rallies, at jatra stages, at fairs, on the streets, at movie houses and, who knows, even at educational institutions. This is exactly what a teacher of a school in Dhaka was saying: “The common people don't have the slightest idea of what to do in times of crises such as bomb attacks, mugging, robbery etc. We don't know how to defend ourselves in times of emergencies. But we want these violent activities to end.”

Then, a crackdown on Islamic militants began. Leaders from Islamic parties were arrested. In return, the militants threatened to carry out attacks if their leaders are not freed. Some militants belonging to Bangla Bhai's outfit Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh in Baghmara became busy shaving off their beards for avoiding arrest. A spate of accusation and counter-accusation has again begun holding one another responsible for all the unrest in the country.

On March 7, Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil said that Jamaat-e-Islami leaders were now talking irrelevant as their 'hatred and dirty faces' have been exposed. Jalil strongly condemned and protested Jamaat leaders' remarks, which they made from a rally saying all information regarding terrorism in the country will be known if Sheikh Hasina, Prof Abu Sayeed and a few editors are arrested. Jalil also said Jamaat-e-Islami, undercover of their Islamic slogans, is associated with international terrorist network on one hand, and patronising and giving shelter to local armed militant groups developed by their own on the other.

In another corner of Bangladesh, extremist outfits in the southwestern district of Khulna were reportedly going through many upheavals. Seven such active outfits in Khulna - Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML-Janajudhho), Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML), Purba Banglar Maoist Communist Party, New Biplobi Communist Party, Biplobi Communist Party, Dakkhin Banglar Chhinnomul Communist Party and Jihadi Party were reportedly regrouping to take revenge. They said they wanted to avenge the death of their comrades who was killed by Rapid Action Battalion.

Police said these extremists were such people who do not even hesitate to kill their patrons, not to speak of politicians, journalists, police and even their own colleagues.

“When the government will begin a crackdown on these so-called leftist extremists, another spate of accusation and counter-accusation would begin in the political circles,” said a journalist, requesting not to be named.

He said, “But they [politicians] seem to be missing the point that any kind of extremist activities are a failure of governance; and the responsibility of governance doesn't only fall on the shoulders of the ruling party, but the opposition is also equally responsible for it.” a

If that seems to be the case, a question naturally looms: what exactly the politicians are doing to govern the country?