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Caught in Political Crossfire
Farid Hossain

When words spread last week that RAB cornered Shayek Abdur Rahman, the alleged mastermind of recent bomb violence across the country, in his hideout in Sylhet city many sounded skeptical. No one can really blame the skeptics. Several such high-profile hunt for the country‘s top Islamic militant leader had in recent past ended in a fiasco. Suspicion about a foul play by the security forces who surrounded the single-story house in the city‘s East Saplabagh area intensified after the operation was suspended in the night. The suspension came after nine people _ most of them family members of Rahman, including his wife _ were flushed out of the house by police teargas. The surrender of the nine reinforced RAB‘s belief that Rahman, the founder of Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was still inside the house that was rented out in January. Information received from the family members suggested Rahman and his associates were holding huge explosives that could blow up the entire area. RAB stuck to its decision to get the extremist leader alive _ not dead. The elite anti-crime force decided that there should not be any bloodbath. The plan was that all efforts should first be directed to force Rahman to give himself up instead of security agents storming the house. Agents feared that a raid at that stage could end in bloodbath and casualties. So they were extraordinarily cautious about avoiding a bloody confrontation. Rahman alive is more valuable than Rahman dead. Getting him alive would help extract information from him about his militant network and the recent bombing that killed at least 27 people, including judges and lawyers and wounded dozens since Aug. 17 last year, when nearly 500 bombs exploded in near-simultaneous attacks in one but all the 64 districts of the country. While three people died in the Aug. 17 attack, more bombings followed. The subsequent violence involved suicide bombers who dashed into crowded court buildings or government offices in Gazipur, Chittagong and Netrokona.
RAB and other security forces involved in the operation deserve appreciation. First, the alleged bomb mastermind has finally been taken into captivity. Second, he was caught without any fight even though there was lot of drama and tension leading to his surrender. Third, he did not get killed in crossfire, the common pattern we see in case of other top criminals. The JMB leader has been given a different treatment. That, I think, is a correct approach. People, especially those who have lost their loved ones to Rahman‘s militancy campaign, want to see him stand on trial and get punished under the laws of the land. A death in cross-fire further diminishes humanity and tarnishes our image as a civilized nation. Our elite security force should be commended the way it has tackled Rahman‘s surrender and subsequent capture. The same principle needs to be applied in case of other most wanted criminals. They should be brought to justice through trial under the laws of the land. Whatever difficult the circumstances be no one should condone extra-judicial killings.
It was expected that the capture of Shayek Rahman would bring the government and the opposition on a common stand. Instead, it has further widened the gap in how the political rivals see his downfall. In a televised speech to the nation Prime Minister Khaleda Zia called Rahman‘s downfall an epoch-ending incident, which demonstrated how serious her four-party coalition government has been in confronting terrorism. Her main political rival, Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina did not think so. To her the entire episode has been a drama, written and played by the government to divert attention from the growing public miseries and the opposition campaign for reforms to ensure free and fair elections.
The ordinary people sure are caught in a political crossfire.