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DE RUEHKA #0348/01 0791038
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O 191038Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6481
INFO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 8373
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 2099
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 9598
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0567
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 1219
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000348 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO SCA/PB, S/CT 
USAID FOR ANE AND CMM, A COURTNEY AND C RUNYAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2018 
TAGS: CT PINR PTER BG
SUBJECT: IN RURAL BANGLADESH, WHERE HAVE THE TERRORISTS 
GONE? 
 
Classified By: CDA a.i. Geeta Pasi. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Islamic terrorists are visible no longer in a 
corner of western Bangladesh, where they initially were 
embraced as effective vigilantes against violent leftist 
gangs that preyed upon rural communities. The vehemence with 
which local people now denounce the Islamic extremists 
suggests that whatever support they once had was based not on 
ideology but on the lack of effective policing. USG support 
for enhanced Bangladesh law enforcement, including the 
paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion, should help ensure that 
those terrorist groups do not reemerge. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Bagmara upazila (county) is in the northeast corner 
of Rajshahi district, which abuts Bangladesh's border with 
India along the Padma (Ganges) River. Bagmara shimmers with 
verdant rice fields that are speckled with tan-colored, 
mud-walled homes of local peasants. Village markets burst 
with colors, offering the reds of chilis, the oranges of 
carrots, the greens of huge heads of cabbage and the purple 
of onions, which fill the air with their faintly sweet smell. 
It is a pastoral scene not unlike those found elsewhere in 
rural Bangladesh, yet it belies the region's reputation as a 
hotbed of extremist violence. Leftist politics has a long 
history in Rajshahi, and Bagmara has been particularly 
attractive to radicals because of its isolation -- it is 
accessible only by narrow, poorly maintained roads -- and 
light police presence. During a recent visit to the upazila, 
a USG team investigating vulnerability to extremism easily 
found people with harrowing stories of murders committed in 
broad daylight, often in front of horrified crowds. 
 
¶3. (C) In particular, the Sarbohara group of militant 
leftists became notorious for preying upon the population in 
recent years. Among its victims was Golam Rabbani, the former 
chairman of Shuvodanga Union. His wife, Mafuza Parvin Sima, 
recounted the day in January 2000 when a gang attacked him as 
he returned home from the market, dragged him away and killed 
him. She said the attackers were led by a man who formerly 
held the union chairman position and wanted his job back. 
Sarbohara acted with impunity, she said, and murdered up to 
15 people in Shuvodanga. Ultimately the people turned to the 
Islamic terrorist organization Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh 
(JMB) and its notorious leader Bangla Bhai for protection. 
Although some local women wore hijab at the request of the 
JMB leader, they said it was a sign of appreciation for the 
protection and not an indication they supported the group's 
strict vision of Islam. In any event, support for JMB quickly 
dwindled as it began to indiscriminately attack the locals, 
including some who were widely perceived to be falsely 
accused of belonging to Sarbohara. 
 
¶4. (C)  In nearby Taherpur municipality of Bagmara the USG 
team spoke to the brother of a man assassinated by JMB 
militants after being accused of belonging to Sarbohara. 
Golam Mustafa Bablu recounted how on April 14, 2004, his 
brother Golam Rabbabi Mukul was savagely beaten by the JMB in 
front of intimidated police and a few thousand villagers. JMB 
thugs refused to let people leave while the man was tortured; 
many in the crowd cried and fainted as they listened to the 
victim's anguished screams. Eventually, JMB handed their 
victim to the police who rushed him to a hospital where he 
soon died from his injuries, according to the brother. 
 
¶5. (C) A year later in 2005, the JMB launched a wave of 
bombings and suicide attacks throughout Bangladesh that led 
to a crackdown by the newly formed paramilitary Rapid Action 
Battalion (RAB). According to the RAB, it arrested 450 
suspected JMB members as of July 29, 2007, many of whom 
remain in custody in Rajshahi. Among those caught were six 
leaders, including Bangla Bhai, who were executed in March 
2007, appearing to leave the organization rudderless. Senior 
police officials in Rajshahi and neighboring Natore districts 
said they were confident the JMB had been smashed, adding 
that while their own resources remained meagre the RAB had 
proved an effective force against extremists.Throughout 
Bagmara and elsewhere in the region, community members showed 
no reluctance in expressing their disdain for the JMB, which 
they emphasized had no support among the populace. Many 
echoed the sentiment of Golam Mustafa Bablu, who said:"The 
JMB might come again, but if they do, people will not accept 
them. We have confidence in the police now." 
 
DHAKA 00000348  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) In Bagmara, the group that causes continued concern is 
Sarbohara, which remains active underground. Golam Rahman, 
brother of the former union chairman killed by Sarbohara, 
said the group's local cell holds clandestine meetings and 
plans to kill him for his continuing criticism. He said every 
ward in the union has a Sarbohara cell; he estimated about a 
dozen members operate in his ward. As a high school chairman 
and mosque president, Golam Rahman is a man of substance. He 
lives in a courtyard home with electricity; his bedroom has a 
large bed with a cassette player nearby and is decorated with 
a poster of Salman Khan, a buff Bollywood star. In the 
courtyard is a motorcycle and small army of squawking 
chickens. Yet despite his local prominence, he is not relying 
on police in the face of the Sarbohara threat. "The police 
can't protect me," he said. "Only Allah can save me." 
 
¶7. (C) Comment: Golam Rahman's comments suggest that for all 
the progress made in expunging violent groups from Bagmara 
and the surrounding region, the war against extremism is 
hardly over. The USG can help Bangladesh ensure that radical 
groups do not regain a foothold by providing assistance to 
innovative law enforcement, such as the community policing 
programs taking root, and to the Rapid Action Battalion. The 
USG assessment team's report on Bangladesh's vulnerability to 
extremism will provide an important base for specific Post 
proposals on how to further promote Mission counterterrorism 
goals through enhanced support of law enforcement 
organizations. 
Pasi