| by Swadesh Roy
Views expressed in this article are author own
( May 14, 2013, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) The people of Bangladesh have seen the wild face of the Islamic fundamentalists on the 5th of May. A newly formed, Madrassa(one kind of Islamic education institute) based Islamic fundamentalist group, Hefazat- E- Islam blocked the road communication of the capital from the rest of the country.The were supported by the main opposition party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the war criminal Islamic fundamentalist party Jammat-E- Islam.
At the time of the roadblock, the Government gave them permission to hold a rally at Motijheel, the major business center of the capital Dhaka from 3 pm to 5 pm. More than seventy thousand people joined the rally. Baitul Mukarram, the central Mosque of the country is near to that place where the rally took place. Motijheel is full of commercial offices, banks and even the central bank of the country, Bangladesh Bank is situated there. The Baitul Mukarram mosque is surrounded by a big shopping mall and its other side is full of offices, banks and the head office of the government owned Life Insurance Corporation. The Hefajat people and the Jamaat workers, started to vandalize cars and set fire in the offices and the shops at noon. Even they tried to attack the ruling party, Awami League office several times. In the evening, they created havoc in this Motijheel and Baitul Mukarram area. They set fire on a car pool of the Establishment Ministry, and burnt out more than sixty buses. Besides that, they set inferno in a nationalized bank’s branch office, the head office of the Life Insurance Corporation and enflamed ATM booth of some banks and looted the money. Not only they set fire more than one thousand and five hundred makeshift shops of that area but also they looted a huge number of gold from the jewelry shops. They were not content by setting fire in offices, banks, shops and looting jewelry; they also burnt more than six hundreds holy Quran in the name of Jehad. When they were setting fire to the holy Quran, the common Muslim people, who were present there, were astounded, some of the people were crying and telling that, “They are the enemy of Islam, they are the enemy of Allah, and they are the enemy of the Prophet.” To see their vandalism and terrorism, the common people of Dhaka city thought that they would burn the whole city down. In addition of that, when they were starting vandalism then the opposition leader of Bangladesh, Khaleda made a statement through one of her party leaders by a press conference that, now is the time for the citizen of Dhaka to help the Hefazat, as well as giving the order to her party workers to join with them.
In the mean time, the government came to know that, the incidents that were happening in the capital of the country was a conspiracy for toppling the government. They got information that, the Hefajat people would sit-in on the place and in the very morning, the opposition party workers and the workers of the war criminal party would join their sit-in. Then they would set fire to the central bank of the country along enflaming many banks and would loot the money. Besides, they would attack the secretariat of the country. Then, the government took decision that, they would make the Hefazat people bound to flee from the area at night. Then the government took the decision that the police force, Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh ( RAB, a specialized police force) and Border Guard of Bangladesh(BGB) would make an operation at night to make them flee from this place. The three forces made a combined plan, which was named ‘Operation Shapla’. At two in the morning, they started their operation by sound granades, tear shells, hot water cannons and rubber bullets. Within ten minutes, they became successful in the operation and took control of the whole place and they fled away. After taking control, they got four dead bodies in their stage, which was covered by plastic. The fundamentalists also killed a police officer.
The fundamentalists fled away from this place but when they reached a suburb of Dhaka named Rupganj they attacked on the police and BGB. They killed three police officers and one BGB member. The place where they attacked on the police and BGB, there was more than eight madrassas. A group of madrassa students and teachers joined them. But the common people of that suburb took the side of the police. Police took it under their control within four or five hours.
The government of Bangladesh became successful to overcome the situation and the conspiracy of the fundamentalists, the war criminal party and the main opposition. After the heavy action on the Hefajat, the Hefajat people now stopped their activities. Government has arrested the general secretary of the Hefajat. He is now in police remand and confessing to police. In his confession, he said that, what he and his Islamic group have done, it was not by him or his party because the main opposition and the war criminal party took control over his party’s rallies and they made this conspiracy.
Here it is to mention that one month ago the Hefajat declared 13-point demand to the government and one of their demands was that, women could not work and go out with the men. Another demand was, government has to pass blasphemy law. Their 13-point demand was very irrelevant with the constitution of Bangladesh. In spite of that, the main opposition extended their support to the Hefajat and they wanted to topple the government by their support.
The support of the main opposition of Bangladesh to the Hefajat was not taken easily by any liberal and progressive people of the country. Even the western democratic countries did not support them. The German Ambassador in Bangladesh has given an interview with a daily newspaper of Bangladesh. In that interview, he said that, ‘the demand of Hefajat, as supported by the main opposition party, run contrary and against the international treaties signed by Bangladesh.’ He also said that, “My country is concerned by religion-based fundamentalism wherever it occurs in the world.”
So it is clear that, Hefajat and the main oppositions’ present politics is against the constitution of Bangladesh and against the secular tradition of the country. They are following the way of the Talebans of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bangladesh government has dismissed one of their conspiracies and fierce attempts but the government and the country is not out of danger yet. They must have to go on the hard way against these fundamentalists if they want to uphold the nation’s secular values, which was achieved by the freedom struggle of the country. In this freedom struggle three million people sacrificed their lives and half a million women were ravaged by these fundamentalist people and the Pakistani army.
Swadesh Roy, Executive Editor, the Daily Janakantha, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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