Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
The recent killings of an Italian national and a Japanese citizen have prompted debate over whether there is any existence of militancy in the country or not. The killings also raised concern about the country’s deteriorating law and order situation.
Italian national Cesare Tavella was gunned down in the capital’s Gulshan diplomatic zone on September 28, while Japanese citizen Hoshi Kunio was killed in Rangpur on October 3.
After the killings of the two foreigners, a number of foreign investors postponed their planned visits, as they are not feeling secured to visit Bangladesh, said those dealing with foreign investment delegations.
Meanwhile, the country’s security analysts, noted citizens and civil society members observed that the government should take immediate steps to ensure security of all, including foreign citizens. Otherwise, the foreigners will lose their interest about Bangladesh, they added.
Major General (Retd) Mohammad Abdur Rashid, executive director of Dhaka’s Institute of Conflict, Law & Development Studies, termed the killings of foreigners as concerning. He is skeptical that Islamic State (IS) played a role in the killings.
“There may be a few lone wolves or very small splinter groups of local Islamists who are seeking endorsements of their subversive activities by the IS,” said the security analyst.
He further said, “Some might have carried out these two killings. You cannot say that these killings were the handiwork of IS just because the killers pledge allegiance to that group on their own. These groups, if they exist, are not directly linked to IS. We are pretty sure that IS does not have its network in Bangladesh.”
Dr Fahmida Khatun, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), on Thursday said that all are upset and surprised in the killing of two innocent foreigners.
The killing incident of the Italian citizen in Gulshan diplomatic zone is very alarming as the area is considered as one of the safest areas of capital Dhaka. Such murder incidents can brand Bangladesh as an unsafe country for foreigners, she added.
Md Hatem, former vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that the government should strictly handle the situation of killing incident. Foreign investors have voiced their concern over the current situation. They will lose confidence if the government does not take immediate initiative, he added.
The tourists also fear to visit the country following the murder of two foreigners at the advent of the tourist season. In the wake of this situation, security measures have been tightened in the tourism spots. Tour operators in Bangladesh said that the two killings have scared many foreign tourists. “At least 200 foreign tourists have cancelled their trips to Sundarbans and other places this month under the arrangement of my company, said Masud Hossain of Bengal Tours in Dhaka.
Many other tour operators are experiencing identical situation” he said.
Cox’s Bazar district administration, district police and tourist police have taken a number of special measures so that foreign tourists can move smoothly in the district, said Cox’s Bazar Police Super Shamal Kumar Nath, adding, “Sufficient security measures have been taken for foreigners.”
Although many foreign diplomats said that they are satisfied with the steps taken by the government, they are reportedly still gripped with a sense of insecurity prompting many foreign missions in Dhaka to cancel scheduled programmes.
The Japanese Embassy in Dhaka has postponed a seminar titled ‘Study in Japan’ scheduled to be held in Mymensingh on October 19.
Similarly, the Embassy of Spain has called off Spanish National Day reception which was scheduled to be held at a hotel in the city on Thursday.
According to a report of the Voice of America, the killing of two foreigners have raised concern from foreign governments about the danger of violent attacks against their citizens abroad, and prompted a debate over whether the Islamic State or other violent radical Islamist groups are behind such attacks.
The VoA reports: “Such violent attacks on foreigners in Bangladesh are extremely rare, and the United States, the European Union and Japan have urged concerned officials to quickly bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Police have not been able to identify any suspects in the cases as yet and they say that investigators are searching for leads.
But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, blamed the BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami for the two killings. BNP and Jamaat denied the allegation and calling the PM’s comment irresponsible.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday called for national unity against militancy and extremism in the country.
“The world is united against militancy and extremism but it is unfortunate for us that we are indulging in dirty politics over the issue,” said the BNP leader.
Militants and extremists will take opportunity if the country runs in absence of democracy. “Democracy and national consensus is must to combat them,” he said.
