NOTE: Though the term ‘false flag operation’ is not common in our local language, the action of undertaking a covert operation to appear as if it is being carried out by another group is commonplace in Bangladeshi politics. The violence in Pabna and Lalmonirhat against Hindus is one such example.
As both the Awami League and the BNP try to increase their voter base by campaigning to win the Hindu vote, Hindus became a pawn for politics for the ruling party in the election season. While initial reports pinned the violence on Hindu communities in Pabna and Lalmonirhat on the BNP and Jamaat, more thorough investigations prove that attacks on these populations were planned and instigated by the Awami League. Investigative reports from the media show that the locals in these areas stated that their attackers were “ruling party cadres who are routinely terrorising them”.
Initial reports of violence at Sathia were blamed as Jamaati reaction to an alleged insult on the Prophet (PBUH); further investigation revealed that this was a fake case, and that the violence was spurred as a result of actions by some extortionists from the ruling party who had targeted a Hindu family. Some of the attackers who had been responsible for the violence in Sathia were later seen with State Minister Tuku. Leaders of several parties, including Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), have demanded action against State Minister Tuku for harbouring the attackers, and have called for an official investigation into the three-hour long rampage that occurred at Sathia. They have also called for an investigation into why the police had taken so long to respond to the violence[1].
In an attempt to smear the BNP’s outreach to minority communities and their comments on the necessity of guaranteeing equal rights and protections to these communities, Awami League mastans, acting under the guise of BNP/Jamaat, carried out attacks on Hindus to undermine BNP’s efforts. Through such actions, the Awami League is trying to depict the BNP as a party that harbours terrorists or condones terrorist activities. They want to show to the Western world and our South Asian neighbors that the Awami League is a true partner in the war on terrorism. The irony, however, is that the Awami League – and its many mastans – are the actual terrorists, carrying out extortionist activities, launching violent attacks, and terrorizing local communities, all while enjoying full protection from the state.
This is why we must question the Awami League’s allegations that the BNP has been involved in the recent attacks on Hindu communities in Jessore and Dinajpur. The Awami League has used violence on Hindu communities before in an effort to satisfy their own political goals and paint the BNP in a bad light.
The perpetrators of such crimes should undoubtedly be punished, but the Awami League should also be punished for exacerbating communal violence.
