Does the US want to make Bangladesh a Taliban state?

25th March. Through "Operation Searchlight," the Pakistani military carried out brutal genocide against Bengalis. This is considered to be the biggest atrocity of the Second World War. The inhumanity of this national tragedy shocked the entire world. Through Seymour Topping's reporting, the world learned about the terrifying rampage of the Pakistani military. Even today, the Bengali nation remembers the atrocities of the Pakistani military with horror. Murder, looting, arson, and rape were the tools used by the Pakistanis on that day. This horrific act was the catalyst for a nine-month long bloody war. Following the guidance of their forefathers, the unarmed Bengali nation fought back with whatever they had. The United States did not condemn the genocide and barbarity of '71. Although the country's largest demographic was in favor of humanity. Many American politicians, like Kennedy, stood in solidarity with Bangladesh. However, the then US President Richard Nixon was in favor of Pakistan. He supported the genocide that Pakistanis committed. His trusted Henry Kissinger told the United Nations, "There has been no genocide in Bangladesh. It is a propaganda." The United States, which claims to uphold human rights, supported and cooperated the abductors and looters that day. The Nixon-Kissinger duo did everything they could for nine long months to stop Bangladesh. But even with American support, the heroic Bengalis defeated the Pakistani army. It was proved that no one can defeat the indomitable spirit of the desire for independence. The dawn of independent sovereign Bangladesh arrived. Even after fierce opposition from the powerful United States, we still have our blood-stained sacred flag. Our independence. However, even after the victory in '71, Pakistan and the United States did not accept Bangladesh. Bangladesh seemed to be turning into a failed state and as an independent country, it seemed unable to sustain itself, hence the conspiracy against it remained constant. In 1974, the United States stopped the supply of grain to Bangladesh at the behest of Kissinger. The country was plunged into crisis and created an artificial famine. Jasad, Ganabahini, and Sarbahara were formed to combat the instability in the country. The government initiated a ruthless conspiracy to suppress anti-independence forces, in which the United States played a major role. August 15, 1975, witnessed another dark chapter in Bangladesh's history, where the father of the nation was brutally murdered with his family. Now, these documents related to this have been released in the United States. Upon analyzing them, it can be seen that the US was complicit in the atrocities of 1975. They provided shelter, support, and assistance to the conspirators. The United States had granted legitimacy to the power grab of the murderer Mostaq. To save the killers, Mostaq and Zia created Indemnity Ordinance. This law is called the worst human rights violation law in history. The United States has never condemned such a heinous law with any evidence to this day. All of these came to mind after reading the 61-page human rights report on Bangladesh published by the United States on March 20, 2022. The last line of Rabindranath Tagore's poem "Two Acres of Land" came to mind, "If you were a noble king today, I would be a thief." The United States supported the Pakistani genocide in '71. They did not consider looting, arson, and rape as a violation of human rights. They pushed Bangladesh towards famine in '74. They supported the killers of the father of the nation in '75. And now they have become judges of Bangladesh's human rights today. Taking on the great responsibility of measuring the human rights situation in Bangladesh voluntarily is truly remarkable. The US human rights report has three aspects. Firstly, the report is a compilation of past data. In some cases, old reports have been copied verbatim. Secondly, some topics in the report are suggestive and relevant. Some comments and observations have been made in the report regarding the US view of Bangladesh. Thirdly, regarding the source of information, there is bias. The report has made several comments based on disputed and untrue information. The information has not been verified.

Some points of this report are current and similar to previous reports. The US State Department's annual human rights report does not include any new topic on the independence of the judiciary, human rights situation, Rohingya situation and the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Some parts of last year's report seem to have been repeated. Similarly, there is no new information on women's empowerment, child marriage, minority rights, and the rights of small groups in the US human rights report. Some comments and decisions in the Human Rights Report 2022 are very relevant and suggestive. The 61-page Bangladesh-related human rights report begins with a mention of the 2018 election. It is stated at the beginning of the report, "A parliamentary democracy has been established in Bangladesh. The Prime Minister has more power there. Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, won the national parliament election in December 2018 like the previous two times." Observers do not consider this election to be fair and impartial. In this election, various irregularities were found, including ballot stuffing, intimidation of opposition polling agents and voters, and threats. The American Human Rights Report primarily analyzes the human rights situation on an annual basis. But why was the 2018 election questioned in the 2022 report? Interestingly, almost identical comments were made about the 2018 election in the Human Rights Report for 2018, which was released on March 11, 2019. So, what is the reason for presenting an incident from four years ago in a new way? After the 2018 election, the United States congratulated the new government. The then-US President Donald Trump sent a congratulatory message to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Over the past four years, more than two dozen American officials have visited Bangladesh. This means that the United States had approved of the 2018 election a long time ago. So what is the purpose of raising this issue now? Pressuring the government before the election? Moreover, the Prime Minister's powers were increased in the constitutional amendment in 1991. BNP was in power at that time. Why question the authority of the Prime Minister now, after all this time? Is it to support the proposal for the restoration of BNP's political framework?

The report has expressed support for the protests of opposition parties, including the BNP, in several places. Throughout the report, the statements of the BNP-controlled organizations, such as "Odhikar" and "Mayer Daak" have been taken into account. On the fourth page of the report, it has been reported that "Local human rights organizations have claimed 16 cases of disappearances between January and September. Civil society organizations have claimed that those who have disappeared were mainly leaders, workers and dissenters of the opposition party." This information is clearly provided by the Mayer Daak. Each of the 16 people who were claimed to have disappeared has since returned. None of them were BNP leaders, nor were they workers. At least four of them have given interviews to various media outlets upon their return. Among them, at least two were dismissed military personnel, who have been proven guilty of the extrajudicial killings. They have also acknowledged it in their own statement. One person's name was on the list of missing people, but later he admitted himself that he had left with his friends. Such an incomplete and biased report being published in the official report of the world's most influential country is surprising. The head of the ' Odhikar' organization, Adilur Rahman Khan is a pro-BNP lawyer. Former JSD leader Adilur served as the Deputy Attorney General during the BNP-Jamaat coalition government from 2001 to 2006. In May 2013, his organization was criticized for publishing a false and distorted report regarding the Dhaka crackdown by Hefazat. At that time, the organization "Odikar" spread rumors of multiple deaths caused by the crackdown, which were later proven to be false, motivated, and fabricated. The report was released with the intention of creating unrest in the country. This false report by the propagandist organization gained significance in the US Human Rights Report. "Mayer Daak" is another BNP-controlled organization. This organization is run by a sister of a BNP leader. Many of the reports published about “Mayer Daak” have been later proven to be untrue. The American report has shown bias against the BNP. Almost all publications have expressed support for the BNP without any reservation. In the report's 13th page, it is mentioned that Begum Khaleda Zia was sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption and embezzlement in 2018. This case was filed in 2008. International and local legal experts believe that Khaleda Zia was kept away from the election process without sufficient evidence. These experts say that the court is following a policy of slow progress in releasing Khaleda Zia. However, the reality is that Begum Zia's lawyers have accepted the "slow and steady" policy regarding the case of the BNP chairperson. The lawyers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are not interested in attending the final verdict hearing of the orphanage corruption case. What is BNP's intention in putting pressure on the government when it has created lengthy delays in the case against Begum Khaleda Zia? Begum Zia has been sentenced in two corruption cases through lengthy legal battles. His lawyers have repeatedly gone to the High Court and have had every opportunity to argue in favor of his case. But if this verdict is politically motivated, then what is justice?

If you read the 21-page American report, you might think it's a leaflet of the BNP. It is said here, "BNP's programs are not regularly allowed or obstructed." Then how did BNP hold colorful rallies in every divisional city? How are they carrying out protest programs every Saturday in the upazila, district and divisional levels? On page 31 of the report, the incident in front of the BNP office has been reported piece by piece. On December 10, the BNP refused to hold a rally where it had been given permission. On December 7th, the BNP attempted to occupy the area in Nayapaltan. 16 sacks of rice and pulses were found during raids at BNP office. Can it be a political program to disrupt public life by taking a position on a busy street? But this issue is completely avoided in the US report. The same page mentions that 86 cases against the BNP Secretary General are still pending. However, the US report avoided the information that 61 of these cases have been postponed by the higher court's order.

A frightening aspect of this report is the attempt to attack our culture and traditions. Every country has its own customs, cultural traditions, values. Family ties in Bangladesh are thousands of years old. Family, male-female relationship, marriage have deepened our culture. Eastern family values, conservative love marriages, romanticism, respect for elders etc. are now respected by the western world. Traditionally, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, etc., are considered deviant here. Our culture and tradition does not nurture these. Almost all people in this country consider homosexuality or same-sex relationship to be a perversion. It is more rooted in our tastes and cultural consciousness than religious beliefs. But the 61-page human rights report has the fuel to recognize these Western distortions at least a dozen times. The American report attempts to impose these Western desperation-induced immoral and unsavory relations into our traditional, natural social relations. Even the report shows support for atheism and a kind of sympathy for their rights. The report also claims that these people are at risk of death from extremists. In other words, there is a kind of provocation of western depression, distortion and ugly intrusion in this report. On the other hand, sympathy for war criminals, communal forces, especially the anti-independence organization Jamaat, can be observed in the US report. The human rights report of the United States is a manifestation of their double standard and contradictory policies.

The most worrying aspect of this report is the love for Jamaat. This is a major shift in the US stance on sectarian, radical fundamentalist and fanatical groups. The United States identified Jamaat as a radical right-wing sectarian political force in human rights reports in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Declared the Jamaat-controlled student body Islami Chhatra Shibir as a terrorist organisation. But this time in the report, the United States has completely taken a U-turn on this matter. On the 13th page of the report, questions have been raised about the International Criminal Tribunal set up for the trial of war criminals. It has been said - 'Observers feel that the trial of war criminals is politically biased and only members of the opposition party have been convicted. The US government supported the genocide in 1971. Is that why they are protesting now? In Bangladesh, the trial of war criminals is being conducted according to international standards. The trial is being conducted with proper adherence to every step of justice. Even the main opposition party, BNP, did not question this trial. On the other hand, did the United States once again support the genocide, rape, and looting of 1971? Are they eager to avenge the defeat of '71? This is why so much outrage?

On pages 30 and 31 of the American report, there seems to be no sympathy towards the extremist communal organization Jamaat, who are opposed to independence. It is stated that "opposition workers are accused of authoritarianism. The leaders and workers of the largest Muslim political organization, Jamaat, are prevented from exercising their constitutionally recognized rights to independence and assembly. The report wrongly states that the government has cancelled Jamaat's registration as a political party and that their candidates are no longer allowed to be nominated. However, the entire matter has been under the direction of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission. Both of these institutions are independent and sovereign. The United States considered this Jamaat an 'enemy' for democracy and secular Bangladesh. Several previous reports have compared them to the Taliban. The United States considered Jamaat to be an obstacle to women's freedom and religious freedom. Why is the United States so interested in their rights now? Is this a repeat of the Afghan drama? The United States played a major role in propping up the Taliban to fight communism in Afghanistan. The Taliban now hold Afghanistan in their hands. Does the US want to repeat the same mistake again in Bangladesh? The country that Henry Kissinger once referred to as a basket case in 1971 is now a wonder of the world, a model of development. This is why the United States is so angry and upset? Is the United States looking to create a Taliban-like state in Bangladesh in order to exact revenge for their defeat in that country's development? The entire report hints at the possibility that the United States has a plan for Bangladesh. There is an indication of uncertainty surrounding the election in US reports. So does the United States want to bring someone like Hamid Karzai to power through the election, whose inevitable fate will be the rise of militants? Is this what the American report hinting at?