Staff Reporter :
In the backdrop of ongoing political violence, eminent security analyst Major General [Rtd] Moniruzzaman has warned that different extremist forces are trying to take control of ‘centre space of politics’ taking the opportunity of current ‘political gap’ due to conflict between the two major political parties.
“There should be a place for different ideologies and political opponents in a society, whereas an effort of de-politicization is under process in the country. Political vacuum is being created due to the said reason. And taking the opportunity, different extremist political parties are coming forward to fill up the gaps. We are seeing the symptoms…,” he said in an interview with BBC Bangla Service on Wednesday.
At present, the police are braced for more violence after arson attacks, protests, strikes and blockades. About 38 people were killed and hundreds more injured in the last 23 days. More than 10,000 people, most of them are activists of opponent political parties, have been detained.
Referring to the issue, Moniruzzaman said: “The dependency of government on law enforcement agencies is increasing day by day. This type of situation is giving birth to a ‘deep state’ or ‘a state inside a state’…We are anxious that different forces of extreme ideologies, extreme right, Islamist radical and even terrorist outfits are trying to take control of center space of politics.”
“This type of situation arises when all doors of political solution begin to shut. In Bangladesh, we are witnessing some preliminary warning signs in this regard. The current situation is worrisome not only for politics, but also for security and stability,” he noted.
Terming the present violent situation very hard to tackle, he said: “There is no sole control of anyone in which way the violence has been spreading. It is also very difficult for administration and law enforcement agencies to bring such violent situation under control.”
Major General [Rtd] Moniruzzaman, however, blamed the top leaders of political parties for such situation. “There is no connection among the top leaders. As the politics of Bangladesh is controlled from the top level, so this type of situation creates when the bitterness increases. We are not seeing any possibility of connection between the top leaders.”
When asked what is the solution of current political impasse that has been created after January 5 election, he said,” The only solution is dialogue. It is not possible to get a political solution by firing bullets. The solution will come only through talks.”
