Bangladesh • Front Page • Latest • Perspectives • Slide
Public support against violent extremism
Syed Ishtiaque Reza, Editor-in-Chief, GTV & sarabangla.net : For years, Bangladesh has been a source of positive news. The country’s economy has done well with GDP growth exceeding 6%. Recently, the planning ministry claimed that the GDP growth rate hits 7.65%. The country has been graduated from least developed country to a developing country. A key driver has been the country’s flagship export sector, the readymade garment (RMG) industry, which accounts for around 80 percent of its exports. And also steady performance of agriculture and service sectors contributed to reduce poverty significantly.
Not only poverty reduction, but also in all other social sectors, the country is ahead of its other South Asian neighbors. Despite all these positive things, people here are facing serious challenges in other areas also. Of them, the most dangerous one in front of this Muslim-majority nation is the threat of extremist violence. From the beginning of 2013, a bloody campaign of targeted killings claimed the lives of several secular writers and activists, along with members of the country’s religious minorities. In many cases, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISI) claimed credits for the attacks. The maiden deadliest attack that Bangladesh witnessed was July 1 attack on Gulshan Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, in 2016. At least 22 people, mostly foreigners, were brutally murdered in the attack. Of the victims, nine were Italians, seven Japanese, an Indian national and a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, along with two other Bangladeshis.
Accounts from survivors confirm that the attackers were mainly looking for foreigners, sparing most of the Bangladeshis trapped inside the restaurant. Two policemen also died as the authorities tried to take control of the situation. Six of the gunmen were killed after a tense overnight siege that turned the international spotlight on the country’s battle with terrorism.
Ongoing activities of militant forces and terrorist attacks are posing a real threat to Bangladesh’s security. Then again, the security forces are strongly dealing with the issue, thus, achieving significant success.
Stricter actions are required for the identified and unidentified militant groups to restore peace in the country. Bangladesh militants are aided by the militants across the border. Indian government says that the militants on its soil are supported by the ISI to destabilize both India and Bangladesh.
Mobilizing public opinion against extremism is the need of the hour now. Without effective participation of the common people, no strategies would work to combat the challenges of extremism posed by the people nurturing militant attitudes within them. Other than the security forces, we believe it is high time to engage other state organs to play their roles in this regard, an effort that will effectively elicit public support against violent extremism.