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RAW trained Crusader 100 in action in Bangladesh

Covert external interventions in Bangladesh polity

Sadeq Khan

The political scenario of Bangladesh is in deep turmoil. More than the principal actors at home, Bangladesh watchers from abroad are being profusely quoted in the vernacular media of the country about their detection of a geo-strategic hand of foreign agents entering the game. The purpose is hinted to be a “destabilisation agenda” being pursued by the neighbourly regional power, which may be finding the very existence and development potential of independent Bangladesh a threat by example, in effect encouraging the separatists in Indian northeast.
A pen-picture of such foreign geo-strategic interests fanning up troubles in peaceable Bangladesh has been painted (and reproduced in Bangla papers) on diverse grounds by various international reporters. The Sydney Morning Herald of Australia, for instance, saw in the border management policy of India with regard to its boundaries with innocuous Bangladesh inexplicably “aggressive”. Its correspondent Ben Doherty reported on April 21 (abridged):

“The Border Security Force soldiers are unfailingly polite and hospitable, but conspicuously armed and resolute. We go no further. ‘Why do you need to go to the border? There is nothing there,’ we are told over endless cups of chai (tea) with progressively more senior officers, all of whom refuse us permission to travel beyond their cantonment, or photograph ‘the fence’ a few hundred metres away.

‘Berlin wall of Asia’
The border these men patrol is not India’s antagonistic front with Pakistan, nor its contested line with China. This is India’s quiet boundary with Bangladesh, a frontier that doesn’t attract the attention of its querulous colleagues, but one that, in recent times, is proving equally fractious. The fence they are so reticent to reveal is a rampart known in these parts as the ‘Berlin Wall of Asia’.

Over 25 years, India has been building, and reinforcing, a massive fence along its 4053-kilometre border with Bangladesh, each renovation pushing the barrier higher, an ever-escalating posture of aggression. It is due to be finished this year. But more than the simple fact of building a border fence, at issue has been India’s manner of policing it. ‘India and Bangladesh are friendly countries, they are not enemies,’ Kirity Roy, the secretary of the Indian human rights group Mausam, tells the Herald. ‘But the Indian government’s paramilitary organisation, the Border Security Force, they are … trigger happy, they are killing Indians and Bangladeshis without discrimination. And they are killing with impunity because they are never charged or given any punishment.’
A Human Rights Watch investigation found killings on both sides of the fence, as well as beatings, torture, kidnappings and rampant corruption. ‘The abusive methods used by the BSF are disproportionate to the problems that the Indian government faces on its eastern border. Numerous ordinary Indian and Bangladeshi citizens resident in the border area end up as victims of abuses, which range from verbal abuse and intimidation to torture, beatings and killings.’
In January the BSF director, Utthan K. Bansal, said soldiers should exercise restraint, but warned they would shoot if they felt threatened. As if to belie the director’s emphasis on restraint, just days later a brutal video was posted on YouTube showing uniformed BSF soldiers stripping naked a suspected Bangladeshi cattle smuggler, tying his arms to a pole and beating him with bamboo sticks for more than 10 minutes as he writhed on the ground and screamed for his mother.
India sees this imposing barrier as a panacea against the evils it believes lurk across the border, from the very real problem of people smuggling, to the less-likely threat of Islamist terrorists. But the fence’s fundamental purpose is far simpler: to keep out Bangladeshis. The xenophobe card plays strongly in Indian politics, and senior officials, like the Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, have lost no support lecturing that Bangladeshis ‘have no business to come to India’.
Yet, for all the cost of building the fence - upwards of a billion dollars so far - and the violence along it, both sides of the border know it is no border at all. Dozens of villages act as unofficial, illegal transit posts. At each, a “lineman”, handsomely remunerated, pays off the guards from both notoriously corrupt countries, and directs the illegal traffic, which can run into scores of people at a time, across the border.

In December last year, Suman says, he was walking just after dark near the Indian side of the border. ‘My family has a house there, and I go there often, it was not unusual. Suddenly, they flashed a torch on me and then they shot.’ Suman survived, dragged to hospital by family who heard the firing. He has lost all sight in his right eye.

Others do not survive, like 15-year-old Felani Khatun who was trying to cross into Bangladesh to be married. She was shot when her salwar kameez became caught in the wire. Her screams alerted the guards, who shot her as she struggled. Her body was left hanging on the fence for five hours before it was cut down.”

More pungent story
A more pungent story of interventionist operations by the Indian security establishment in Bangladesh was circulated by Jessica Fox, presumably from London, on April 22 in the on-line ‘Free Press Release’ news service. The press release (abridged) said:
“Strictly scrutinized 100 armed cadres of the ruling Awami League in Bangladesh, who received 6-month long extensive commando training at Dehradun in India under the direct supervision of Indian espionage agency RAW are continuing various types of activities, including secret killing, abduction etcetera since June of 2010 with the mission of ‘clearing’ a large number of politicians, media personnel and members of the civil society in Bangladesh. The team codenamed ‘Crusader-100’ went to India during end September 2009 and stayed there till mid June 2010.
On return, the members of the ‘Crusader-100’ team from India were provided a hit list comprising names of opposition politicians, members of Bangladeshi media and some members of the civil society. According to information, the list contains names of more than 83 people, who are planned to be ‘cleared’ by the members of the ‘Crusader-100’ gang.”

A follow-up story was contributed by the same reporter in Sri Lanka Guardian, April 23 issue, as reproduced hereunder (abridged):

“Enforced disappearance in Bangladesh went on for past three and half years since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formed the government. The issue has now drawn attention of the global community, when recently a former MP and prominent leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, M Ilias Ali disappeared along with his chauffer. The Prime Minister was cool, making jokes about the disappearance. Sheikh Hasina and her government has somehow become comfortably confident of being assured by New Delhi on remaining in power at least up to 2019. It is a substantial period for the ruling party in establishing much stronger grip over country’s civil and military administration, as well as the judiciary, thus bringing Bangladesh under one-party rule, which was the brain-child of Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.

One party rule
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, who is the founding-father of Bangladesh, introduced the one-party rule system named BKSAL, which he conceived from former Soviet Union. The era of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman came to a tragic end, when he was assassinated along with members of his family on 15th August 1975 in a military coup.
After 20 years of the tragic assassination of the founding father, the people of Bangladesh voted Mujib’s eldest daughter Sheikh Hasina into power in 1996, but her government had to finally face a huge defeat just after five years, because of its massive corruption, nepotism, state-patronized crime and bad governance. Prior to this election, Sheikh Hasina sought apology to the people for all wrong-doings of her father.

In 2008 again, Sheikh Hasina made fresh pledges to the people with renewed apology for the ‘mistakes’ during her tenure of 1996-2001, and promised ‘a better Bangladesh’ with the implementation of her Vision 2021 and establishment of ‘Digital Bangladesh’. It was already known in the political and media circles in India that, the pre-election propaganda strategy and the election manifesto of Awami League were drafted by a team of seasoned politicians and media personnel from India. Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Pranab Mukherjee contributed in the election manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League by their inputs.

Awami League got a huge victory in the election and since it formed government in January-2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet are seen totally committed in implementing all of its commitments and pledges, made to India, without considering their impacts on Bangladesh or its people. For the people of Bangladesh, this is possibly one of their worst-ever period of national catastrophe of letting Awami League still being in power for another one plus year. No doubt the ruling party and its elites are fully aware of people’s grievance and anger. Sensing this as well as foreseeing possible revolt of the people either before or during the election, the ruling party is carrying out its well-planned agenda of political secret killings as well as forced disappearances, with the goal of eliminating most of the potential political opponents as well as leaders of the opposition parties, especially BNP and Jamaat. The case of forced disappearance became prominent when BNP leader and ex Member of Parliament (from Sylhet) M Ilias Ali went missing along with his chauffer few days back.
While Bangladeshi Sylheti community in London are very active and protesting the forced disappearance of M Ilias Ali, few pro-Awami League palls such as writer Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury and some of the business associates of Sheikh Rehana are trying to organize people to counter the protests of angered Sylhetis in London and the United Kingdom.”

The Guardian, London

The violence on the ground in Bangladesh ahead of the dawn-to-dusk general strike called by the main opposition in Bangladesh was portrayed by a despatch in The Guardian of U.K. (abridged as follows):
“Police in Bangladesh used baton charges, live bullets and teargas on Sunday (22 April) in clashes with demonstrators protesting against the alleged abduction of a senior politician. The violence was the most acute for many months in the unstable state.
In Dhaka, the capital, dozens of small devices were reported to have exploded and 20 arrests were made. In the north-eastern city of Sylhet, 12 people were reported to have been injured and more than 50 detained in running battles. On Sunday night a tense calm had been established, although tens of thousands of security personnel remained deployed across the country in anticipation of further clashes on Monday.
The crisis was sparked by the disappearance last Tuesday of Ilias Ali, a key organiser with the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP). Ali was the latest in a series of political activists who have apparently been abducted, raising fears of a concerted campaign of intimidation aimed at opposition politicians. At least 22 people have gone missing so far this year. In 2011, the number was 51. Many local and international campaigners have blamed security forces, accusing the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and local police of eliminating opposition figures to benefit the administration of Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister. Spokesmen from the Rab have denied the charge.
In its 2012 annual report Human Rights Watch said ministers have denied that such incidents occur, even when the government’s own investigations found evidence of wrongdoing.”

Wall Street Journal

The finale of this phase of hartals has been described in a report published by The Wall Street Journal of U.S.A. as follows:

“At least five people have been killed and scores of protesters and security officials injured in Sylhet and Dhaka, the capital, over the past week as tens of thousands joined demonstrations. Dhaka ground to a halt as people stayed in their homes Tuesday. Shops remained closed and thousands of security personnel fanned out across the city of 12 million.
The clouded economic picture, coupled with the return of violence, shows that Bangladesh may be slipping back toward instability.

Bangladesh for decades has been unhinged by political vendettas, largely stemming from deep animosity between the supporters of Ms. Hasina’s Awami League and the Khaleda Zia-led BNP.
On a visit in February, Robert Blake, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, raised concerns, though, about media freedom and a draft law that would impose restrictions on nongovernmental organizations. More recently, the government has been hit by a number of corruption scandals. Earlier this month, railways minister Suranjit Sengupta resigned on allegations he took bribes from applicants seeking jobs. He denies wrongdoing. Ordinary people remain hit by high inflation and daily power outages that have dented the government’s popularity since its landslide victory in 2009.

Now, the BNP is threatening to call for strikes until the return of Mr. Ali.
‘The government has pushed us to the wall,’ said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a BNP spokesman.”

Holiday
 
It is very unfortunate when private emails are circulated to third parties without the permission of the sender and the recipient and is then distorted to make a point in an article turning personal observations into factual statements. My email to several close friends was in reply to another article in Blitz by Sajjad Hossain that criticized the write up by Jessica Fox titled 'RAW trained crusader 100 in action in Bangladesh.' I had merely pointed out that there was a personality clash between some of the people involved and that many of these persons had alleged intelligence links so it was not clear how reliable or credible their comments would be on the subject of the earlier RAW article. This email has been used in a new article by Jessica Fox which makes my statements appear as fact in order to undermine the Blitz team which was not my intention. In any case the reader may make his/her own assessment on the matter –

One Eleven Ghost Returns in Bangladesh

By Jessica Fox

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) May 1, 2012 --

Leaders of the main opposition – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and members of its 18-party alliances are in huge fear as most of the front-ranking leaders were forced into hiding following lodging of number of criminal cases against them by the State on April 28. There is no trace of the acting secretary general of BNP, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir since April 29 early hours, while many other leaders, who’s names already exists in the “hit-list” of Crusader-100 – are also facing similar charges and are absconding. Current situation in Dhaka can only be compared with that of “One-Eleven”, when mainstream leaders were indiscriminately arrested by the military dictated government, thus creating a kind of fearsome situation in Bangladesh. Now the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) has visibly copied the same policy of the one-eleven government, possibly with the target of eliminating BNP and its alliances or at least cutting them into such a size, wherefrom they can barely play any active role in Bangladesh politics. Following lodging of the criminal cases and absconding of the opposition top-brasses, leader and spokesman of ruling AL, Mahbubul Hoque Hanif said, “the opposition has vanished from the political show just on lodging of the cases.”

He said, “Opposition leaders will onwards not be allowed to create any anarchy in Bangladesh in the name of political agitation.”

That means – AL will make sure that the opposition voices are completely suffocated, while it will march ahead with the agenda of establishing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s one-party system once again in the country, prior to the general election, which is scheduled for 2014.

The hardliner mystery:

All on a sudden, the AL government has gone into hard-line policy by lodging criminal cases against most of the top-brasses in the opposition quarters, while it has also decided to lock them into prison at least for a period between 3-6 months, with numerous charges, which would come at a later stage. The reason behind such tougher decision is, the AL government is pledge-bound of signing a number of treaties during the “joint-visit” of Hillary Clinton and Indian minister Pranab Mukherjee, which will take place during 5-6th May. Washington wants to get the TIFA treaty along with several contracts on the oil-gas blocks at Bay of Bengal singed during Hillary’s visit, while India specifically wants five treaties to be sealed during Pranab Mukherjee’s upcoming tour. The Indian desired treaties are:

- Full fledged corridor facilities to India, both on land and river route enabling it to mobilize “civilian” and “military” cargoes onto the north-eastern states,

- Allowing Indian Central Bureau of Investigation along with other “counter-terrorism” forces to conduct raids, investigations, interrogations and arrests “in special occasions” within Bangladeshi territory for the “sake of countering terrorism and jihadist activities”, while the Indian counterpart will have legal access to existing data of the Bangladeshi law enforcing and intelligence agencies,

- Handing over ULFA leader Anup Chetia along with other members, who are inside Bangladeshi prison,

- Allowing Indian army to join Bangladeshi forces “in case of emergency and necessity” for the sake of “protecting the democratic government” in Bangladesh,

- Giving 3-4 oil and gas blocks at Bay of Bengal to Indian mining companies.

It is understood that Indian lobby at Washington has been making strong efforts in convincing the US administration in extending support to Delhi’s demands, in order to ensure Bangladesh from being free from any possible influence of China in particular.

AL is also decided to press the ongoing orphanage graft trial of BNP leader Khaleda Zia and her son Tareq Rahman and get both of them convicted by June 2013, in order to stop the door for them in participating in the next general election in Bangladesh. India and United States will jointly collaborate with AL led government in getting Tareq Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko extradited from United Kingdom and Malaysia once the final verdict of the orphanage graft case will be pronounced. Clearly the AL government has been able in entering the US-India nexus for the sake of upholding power until 2021 under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.

Repression of press:

The current government in Dhaka and its agents made furious reaction following publication of a number of reports in Sri Lanka Guardian (SLG) -– because these reports generated huge media storm within and outside Bangladesh. The Al government blocked SLG site for hours, while it instructed few of the pro-AL editors in the country in publishing confusing stories against SLG and its writers. One such report was carried in Dainik Samakal on April 30th quoting “intelligence” sources, where the Bangla daily questioned the existence of SLG even on the web. Editor of this newspaper, Golam Sarwar is a veteran AL member, with great connection with New Delhi. Sarwar, an US citizen is known in the Bangladeshi journalist community as a “money-monger” and there are numerous allegations on his private life. Prior to publication of this report in Samakal, local television channel Ekushey TV aired a report on the SLG report and the case of Crusader-100, where it interviewed a number of politicians, intellectuals and former military officials. As the SLG report continued to spread in Bangladeshi society, the ruling party took specific agenda in starting negative propaganda against SLG and its writers.

The anti-SLG campaign in Samakal was followed by number of defamatory reports published in openly proclaimed pro-Jewish newspaper in Bangladesh -– Weekly Blitz, which not only published objectionable comments on SLG, but also attempted assassinating image of SLG contributor and human rights activist William Gomes. This newspaper clearly gave instigation to ruling party and country’s intelligence agencies in taking legal actions against William Gomes, while it falsely made claims of Mr. Gomes to have been involved in drug and human trafficking.

Editor of Weekly Blitz, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is an infamous Zionist and agent of Israeli interests in Bangladesh. He faces sedition, treason and blasphemy charges since 2003 for conspiring against Bangladesh. Dhaka circles confirmed that Choudhury is continuing nefarious activities against the Islamic and nationalist forces in Bangladesh with the lone agenda of establishing Israeli influence in Bangladeshi politics and society. International Jewish syndicates and lobbies are continuously extending all out support and patronization to him, while it is understood that both Democrats and Republicans are having huge sympathy for this self-styled “Muslim Zionist” Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. On checking records it was evidently proved that, Choudhury run desperate campaign against Novel laureate Dr. Mohammed Yunus for years, which resulted in making of a documentary against Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank in Denmark. The maker of this documentary is one of the contacts of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.

Understanding the existing relations between Israeli MOSSAD and Indian RAW, it is well anticipated that, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury’s agenda is to promote Israeli and Indian interests in Bangladesh. His newspaper, Weekly Blitz enjoys patronization from The Hindustan Times, which once again proves his secret connection with the Indian authorities. A number of analysts from Bangladesh situation, including William Gomes claimed, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was one of the collaborators and masterminds of one-eleven military takeovers in the country.

Analyst on Bangladesh affairs Barrister MBI Munshi in an email message claimed Shoaib Choudhury to be working for MOSSAD as well as for the rogue North Korean dictators. According to Munshi -- the news item titled “Sri Lanka Guardian mystery unearthed by Bangladeshi intelligence agencies”, published in Weekly Blitz against SLG and William Gomes, which was written by Sajjad Hossain belongs to forces intelligence (DGFI), who earlier worked for CIA, RAW and MI6. It is clearly understood that the contents of the question news item in Weekly Blitz was supplied either by Bangladeshi or Indian intelligence agencies. Barrister Munshi further said that, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is engaged in character assassination of William Gomes for quite some time.

Clearly, Bangladesh politics is moving fast towards huge uncertainty. When the government has so-far failed to trace missing BNP leader M Ilias Ali and his chauffer, Rapid Action Battalion and Bangladesh Police have issued statements saying Ilias is not in their custody. It was earlier claimed by various newspapers in Bangladesh that M Ilias Ali was in the custody of Bangladeshi military intelligence – DGFI, while it has even been rumored that Ali and his chauffer had already been murdered by his abductors. Signals from all such incidents do not exhibit any good news. Rather it is clearly seen that the one-eleven ghosts are returning to Bangladeshi politics by riding into the shoulders of AL leadership. No one dares to say – Bangladesh might be heading towards another political mishap.

One Eleven Ghost Returns in Bangladesh - Bangladesh,India,China
 
Have to say that anything coming from Weekly Blitz and SLG are suspect and should be taken with a pinch of salt, but sometimes there is some kernel of truth in every rumor. Just because these info are brought by these questionable entities, does not mean that they should not be looked at closely. On closer examination, false information can easily be proven false. That which cannot be proven as false, the remainder must remain as the mysterious reality of Bangladeshi politics.

We, the Bangladeshi people, need a human network of intelligence, our eyes and ears in every place of Bangladesh, so no one can get away with anything against our people and country.
 
weekly blitz = propaganda tool.

Weekly Blitz first reported about RAW trained crusader terror group when Saudi diplomat was killed and Awami League regime intentionally did not pursue investigation needed.

Before that Journalist couple murdered and Awami League along with Kangaroo court buried any investigation.

Now Elias Ali the organizing secretary of main opposition had been abducted and Awami League not only flaunting its responsibility but also repressing opposition further for protesting. That goes to show Awami League involvement in these abduction and killing.

So india and Awami League with their actions proving Weekly Blitz report true more than anyone else.
 
:lol:weekly blits have no proof of their claims, just fictional journalism. Weekly blitz is the inqilaab of internet:lol:. Only read by radical BNP folks.:lol:
 
:lol:weekly blits have no proof of their claims, just fictional journalism. Weekly blitz is the inqilaab of internet:lol:. Only read by radical BNP folks.:lol:

In Awami League book of deception they will label anything pointing to their killing, repression and abduction as propaganda. And there are some people with mercenary heritage like yourself will act as Awami echo chamber. Awami League could produce Elias Ali in public and prove what Weekly Blitz said is lie BUT Awami League did not do that, did they???

So why people should take your words when you already caught red handed with lie.
 
So weekely blitz prints stuff by sunita paul and SLG prints stuff by Jessica Fox.

Both these names do not actually exist and are probably some bearded jamati wearing a frock to get in the mood. What they print is so much fantastic bullcrap and such low level propaganda, I mean its so base and low level that only jamatis get it and believe it, nay they lap it up.

That is a great achievement because only a genius can sink so low on purpose, the audience is born that way.
 
:lol:weekly blits have no proof of their claims, just fictional journalism. Weekly blitz is the inqilaab of internet:lol:. Only read by radical BNP folks.:lol:

What happened to Elias Ali? Why Hasina has no answer? Is Elias Ali kidnapping and disappearance also a fiction?
 
So weekely blitz prints stuff by sunita paul and SLG prints stuff by Jessica Fox.

Both these names do not actually exist and are probably some bearded jamati wearing a frock to get in the mood. What they print is so much fantastic bullcrap and such low level propaganda, I mean its so base and low level that only jamatis get it and believe it, nay they lap it up.

That is a great achievement because only a genius can sink so low on purpose, the audience is born that way.

Recently, RAW run propaganda news using its asset in three countries; Dipanjan Roy Chowdhury in India, Indian owned Khaleej times in Dubai and Prothom Alo in Bangladesh been exposed wide open. Perhaps you indians should re-read and shamed for indian propaganda acts.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/bangladesh-defence/167459-fiasco-raw-psy-war-frame-bangladesh.html
 
What happened to Elias Ali? Why Hasina has no answer? Is Elias Ali kidnapping and disappearance also a fiction?

every newspaper is asking for answers about elias not only weekly blitz, its just weekly blitz has too much propaganda and jouranlism without proof stories circulating around.
 

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