Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Quicknote: High Treason?


If a group of politicians provided shelter for violent militants with a stated goal of subverting the state and replacing the government - would that constitute treason? What if, over the course of a police investigation, the police encountered "limitations" due to the political party in power?

Bangla Nation believes that these individuals should be tried and, hopefully, convicted regardless of their familial ties or contributions to the country, government, or religion. Moreover, the associated political and non-political organizations should also be investigated as thoroughly as possible; in this instance, Dhaka must catch and try the kingpins rather than the cronies. Finally, if a political party is found to be complicit in these activities it should be shunned, banned, and struck from the history of Bangladesh.

The Islamist militant network in Bangladesh continues to coalesce thanks to additional information obtained from detained Lashkar-e-Taiyeba leaders, Obaidullah and Mohammad Mansur Ali.

In the latest revelation, the two have revealed that a number of local level and "prominent" national level leaders may have been sheltering LT cadres per "secret deals" with the group. Additionally, a former Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) official noted that at least seven political patrons were known between 2001 and 2006. However, he noted cryptically that "limitations" imposed from the ruling BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance at the time hindered the investigation.

In addition to exploring the involvement of certain politicians with LT, RAB is also intending on investigating the political patrons of the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh to discern whether any of them also have ties with LT or Harakat-ul Jihad Bangladesh (Daily Star).

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