Paper no.1099	25. 08. 2004
BANGLADESH’S UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ON ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON OPPOSITION LEADER. by Dr. Subhash Kapila  Introductory Observations:  The dastardly assassination attempt on Bangladesh Opposition Leader, Begum Sheikh Hasina Wajed stands covered in the authors earlier paper “Bangladesh: Sitting on a Volcano” (SAAG Paper no.1096 dated 23.08.2004.)  What earlier looked like a disruption of a political rally being held in front of the Awami League Central Office in the capital Dhaka by hurling grenades now appears to be a well planned and professionally executed assassination attempt with Sheikh Hasina Wajed being the prime target.  Assassination Attempt- The Sequence  of Events:  The sequence of events as reconstructed from reports from media sources emerges as follows: Awami League organized a massive anti-terrorism protest rally on August 21, 2004. The venue was in front of its Central Headquarters Office in Dhaka. This anti-terrorism rally was to be addressed by Awami Party and Bangladesh Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed. Thereafter the rallyists were to proceed in a protest march through Dhaka. By the afternoon, 25,000 people had gathered at the venue. A makeshift stage was organized on the top of a mini-truck. As Sheikh Hasina finished her speech and was going to get down from this makeshift stage, precisely at 1723 hours in the evening, a rain of grenades came hurtling down on the rally and more precisely at the spot on the ground where Opposition Leader would have alighted. A media lensman requesting for a photo-op from Sheikh Hasina made her pause before getting down. This pause saved her life. Awami Party leaders, workers and her personal security covered her from all angles and moved her quickly to her vehicle ( a bullet proof SUV) Even when the vehicle was whisking away Sheikh Hasina to safety, it came under heavy weapons fire. It resulted in a punctured tyre and bullet holes both in the rear window screen and front glass screen. Fortunately Sheikh Hasina survived both the grenade attacks and the weapons piercing her bullet proof SUV. In this process 19 people have been killed and more than 300 injured including top Awami Party leaders who shielded their leader. Assassination Attempts- A Deliberate Well Planned Operation: The following factors substantiate that the assassination attempt was a well planned and deliberate attempt: Obviously there were three or  four teams involved in this assassination attempt, namely at least two grenade throwing teams and at least two weapons teams designated for targeting Sheikh Hasina's personal vehicle in case she was not killed in the grenade attack. The grenades were lobbed from neighbouring roof tops including from the roof of Ramna Hotel. The grenades, two or three found unexploded from the site, were Chinese-origin grenades used by the Bangladesh Army and para-military forces. The use of back-up weapons teams on the expected exit route of Sheikh Hasina’s vehicle in case she was not killed in the first attempt is ominous. The damage to the bulletproof vehicle (SUV) of Sheikh Hasina as it whisked her away, indicates the employment of skilled marksmen. The above facts point out that it was no simple amateurish attempt on Sheikh Hasina’s life but a well thought-out, well-planned and professionally executed operation.  Bangladesh Government’s Unanswered Queries.  The Bangladesh Government seems to have been at a loss to comment or answer the following queries so far:  Sheikh Hasina has been under constant armed attacks earlier this year at public meetings at Barisal, Sylhet, Sunamganj and Gazipur. Why proper security measures and precautionary measures had not been taken to preempt an attempt like the present one? Hardly a month earlier, Sheikh Hasina had informed the Bangladesh Government of death threats to her given on telephone, both in Dhaka and in Istanbul (Turkey) where she had gone for a function. In light of the above two, why adequate police was not deployed at the Awami League anti-terrorism rally in Dhaka on August 21? Why basic security measures including sanitising of neighboring rooftops was not under taken by the police? Since grenades were being hurled from adjoining rooftops and rallyists saw at least 7-9 people, why the police could not act to prevent their escape and arrest them? Why  did the police not jump into action and prevent or arrest the marksmen targeting Sheikh Hasina’s vehicle?. How did Chinese grenades being used by the Bangladesh Army came into the hands of the assassins? International Condemnation of the Assassination Attempt The international community has been unanimous in its condemnation of this assassination attempt and have demanded prompt investigation and arrest of the plotters. Notable among these have been: ·        US President George Bush. ·        US Secretary of State Colin Powell. ·        UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. ·        EU Ambassadors in Dhaka personally called on Sheikh Hasina and expressed their countries condemnation.  The US Ambassador in Dhaka, Harry K Thomas expressed in Bengali, to reporters that the assassination attempt was a “tragedy for the nation”.  Bangladesh Jurists and Intelligentsia Demand International Probe Having no faith in the present Bangladesh Government, jurists and intelligentsia have called for international and judicial probes.  This also seems to be prompted by reports that an international terrorist organization in complicity with Bangladesh Islamic fundamentalists are behind this assassination plan.  Concluding Observations: In the aftermath of this assassination attempt, the following developments have emerged: ·        Widespread clashes all over Bangladesh between Awami League protesters and the police and between the former and ruling party activists. ·        Communications are being disrupted by protestors, especially railway lines. ·        Sheikh Hasina has pointed her finger at the Prime Minister Begum Khaleda. ·        Many political parties have called for joint protests with the Awami League and working out of a plan to politically unseat the ruling alliance. ·        Demands for resignation of the Prime Minister Begum Zia are mounting. ·        Strident criticism of Bangladesh’s Islamic fundamentalist parties and Jihadi militants and the Government's inactivity in controlling their violent activities.  Overall, Bangladesh presents a very somber picture where the Government of the day has not taken any visible and determined action to rein-in Islamic militant organisations whose declared objective is to convert Bangladesh into a Taliban state through actions like the present assassination attempt.  (The author is an International Relations and Strategic Affairs analyst. He is the Consultant, Strategic Affairs with South Asia Analysis Group. Email drsubhashkapila @yahoo.com)
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