While I was watching a CNN documentary on the Taliban stronghold of Swat Valley in Pakistan, I couldn't help but note the Taliban's focus, determination, strategy and execution in conquering one region at a time. Sure by the look of its political landscape Pakistan is on the edge of being a failed state; however the current state of religious fundamentalists ruining and inciting violence in Pakistan carries dire warnings of the possible fate of Bangladesh.
Recently, in the local english papers, there has been much reportings of a London based NGO that was running and sponsering an orphanage/madrassa (religious school) in Bhola where RAB discovered an impressive array of ammunition, weapons, and literature on Jihad. In short, one could easily assume the orphanage was either a place for stocking arsenal, or a meeting point, or even a training ground for recruiting future terrorists. Regardless, such discoveries are indeed troubling to Bangladesh's secular government and its future as a democratic country.
So we finally have tangible proof that there is a growing presence of fundamentalist fanatics in Bangladesh. A group that is hell-bent on wrecking the country's political, economical, and social infrastuctures in hopes of establishing a religious dictatorship not unlike the Taliban's government in Afghanistan.
So what do we do now? Carry out a witch hunt and expunge them from our land? Encourage them to come to the table and engage in diplomacy? Or ignore their existence?
Recent events in Dhaka like the BDR mutiny and the horrific fire in Bashundhara Mall has shown that Bangladesh is in the grips of a castastrophic rollarcoaster with one awful spin after another. Law and order must be established and practiced rigidly, policing must be done effectively, and even ordinary citizens must keep their eyes and ears open to spot and report deviant and suspect terrorist movements. Afterall, with the country's history of political instability, it will be just too easy to fall into the hands of fundamentalists.
4 comments:
talibans rnt the headache here. fundamentalism in general is. u just have to look at the increasing number of people, sometimes even among those close to u, who have started developing radical ideologies out of the middle of nowhere.
and the causes r too fundamental to be resolved easily.
the fundamentalism road leads straight to taliban land :)
well, it's probably the most likely place it may lead to, but i don't think it's the only 1. plus, that can only happen if u have a sizable population who want a 'taliban' land.
in the case of bangladesh, can u really imagine the fundamentalist group that exists here now being large enough to rule a nation of 150+ million? probably not. what will happen (according to my crystal ball anyway) is that they will never be large enough to come into overall power, neither small enough to ever be snubbed out.
more importantly, we need to fix fundamental issues first if we r to ever consider removing them for good. as long as u have a middle east in turmoil, the fundamentalists will have material for propaganda. as long as people r unemployed or looking for vengeance, u will have new recruits.
and we all sadly know that they will not run out of these things anytime soon.
well put :)
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