VZCZCXRO1308
OO RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHKA #0121/01 0340257
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 030257Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8239
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1961
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000121 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR A/S BOUCHER FROM THE AMBASSADOR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL KGOV BG
SUBJECT: BANGLADESH SCENESETTER FOR A/S BOUCHER 
 
REF: A. DHAKA 99 
     ¶B. DHAKA 65 
     ¶C. SECSTATE 7986 
     ¶D. DHAKA 70 
     ¶E. DHAKA 107 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
------ 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) USG activities in Bangladesh are based on three 
pillars:  democratization, development and denial of space to 
terrorists. The new government led by Prime Minister Sheikh 
Hasina swept to power in Parliamentary elections on December 
29 and is beginning to flesh out its policies on issues of 
great importance to the USG. So far her government has been 
saying all the right things concerning denial of space to 
terrorists, although it has yet to enact important 
anti-terrorism ordinances. The new government also has been 
hitting many of the right notes on development by identifying 
energy and education as top priorities. The administration's 
early performance on democracy has been disappointing, 
however, as it apprently inches back towards the 
winner-take-all politics and centralized governance that has 
crippled Bangladesh throughout its history. In your meetings 
with Bangladeshi leaders you will be able to emphasize USG 
eagerness to work with the new government on a whole range of 
issues and to encourage democratic reform. 
 
---------- 
DEMOCRACY 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Sheikh Hasna's Awami League won a landslide victory 
(230 out of a possible 300 seats) in Parliamentary elections 
December 29 after two years of rule by an appointed Caretaker 
Government. During its tenure, the Caretaker Government 
cracked down on endemic political corruption and violence, 
and at one point imprisoned on graft allegations both Hasina 
and her main political rival, Bangladesh Nationalist Party 
(BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia. The government released both 
to participate in the elections, which won wide acclaim for 
being the cleanest and most peaceful in Bangladesh's 38-year 
history. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Prime Minister Hasina appointed a Cabinet notable 
for the absence of most of the party's Old Guard, including 
many politicians tainted by allegations of graft and 
violence, in favor of Ministers fiercely loyal to her. The 
huge landslide win will test her promise to break from the 
country's past "winner-take-all" politics and centralized 
governance and to allow the opposition a meaningful voice in 
government. So far, signs of meaningful change are few. 
 
¶4. (C) While the Awami League promised to fill the post of 
deputy speaker of Parliament with a BNP lawmaker, the offer 
lost its luster when the Awami League made clear the 
opposition would only get a newly created, second deputy 
speaker position. The Awami League also has insisted the BNP 
accept just four front-row seats in Parliament, far fewer 
than opposition parties' allotments in the past. The BNP 
protested by walking out of Parliament on the second day of 
the session, January 29. (Note: The boycott continued as of 
Monday, February 2. End note.) Meanwhile, election observers 
accused Awami League supporters -- including a newly 
appointed Cabinet minister -- of widepread fraud, 
intimidation and violence in upazilla (county) elections held 
January 22. Although the upazilla elections were intended to 
improve political accountability through decentralizing 
government to some degree, Awami League lawmakers appear 
likely to vote themselves an advisory role over the local 
bodies (Reftel A). 
 
¶5. (C) Hasina's Awami League also seems bent on taking on the 
country's main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami. The Awami 
League has threatened to try Jamaat leaders as war criminals 
for their activities in support of Pakistan during the 1971 
war of independence. One of the first actions of the new 
Parliament was to adopt a resolution calling on the 
Government to move quickly to put alleged war criminals on 
trial. 
 
------------------------------- 
DENIAL OF SPACE TO TERRORISTS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Bangladesh is a nation with porous borders -- air, 
 
DHAKA 00000121  002 OF 003 
 
 
land and maritime -- that make it an attractive transit point 
and safe-haven for terrorists. India in particular argues 
that international Islamic terrorists use Bangladesh as a 
safe haven and often cross into India for bombing and other 
attacks. New Delhi also says Dhaka should do more to uproot 
Indian domestic extremist groups, including the United 
Liberation Front of Assam, that India claims use Bangladesh 
as a safe haven. Sheikh Hasina has made clear that fighting 
extremists and improving regional counterterrorism 
cooperation is a top priority for her administration. She has 
proposed creating a South Asia security task force; Embassy 
Dhaka wants to support those efforts, in part by funding 
regional security dialogues organized by prominent local 
think tanks. The Awami League's historically friendly ties 
with India also should boost regional cooperation, and 
India's Minister for External Affairs still plans a short 
visit to Dhaka on February 9 despite his increased domestic 
responsibilities due to the Indian Prime Minister's heart 
surgery. 
 
¶7. (C) An early indicator of the Hasina administration's 
commitment to counterterrorism will be its decision on 
whether to enact two Caretaker Government ordinances -- one 
on fighting money laundering and the other on countering 
terrorism (Reftel E). Senior Awami League officials have sent 
contradictory signals on the fate of these and the rest of 
the 122 ordinances passed by the Caretaker Government. 
Embassy officers from the Ambassador on down have stressed 
the importance of enacting the two ordinances, which 
represent a marked improvement of Bangladesh's 
counterterrorism legal framework and are necessary to 
strengthen Bangladesh's role in international efforts to 
combat terrorism. 
 
¶8. (S/NF) To counter the transnational terrorist threat, 
Embassy Dhaka has recommended USG support for the creation of 
a Bangladesh Navy Special Operations Force, similar to US 
SEAL and Special Boat units. The Government of Bangladesh 
intends this unit to be a counterterrorism force that will 
address critical gaps in Bangladesh's maritime security 
capability. Transnational violent extremist organizations 
(such as Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism 
(IICT) priority one Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and IICT priority three 
Hizbul Mujhadin), transnational crime, drugs and human 
trafficking are currently exploiting these gaps to facilitate 
operations throughout South Asia. USG support for the 
creation of this new force is critical to denying space to 
terrorists. Additionally, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba is actively 
developing a maritime capability in order to infiltrate 
India; Bangladesh is a particularly attractive maritime 
launching point for such infiltration efforts. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The USG already funds many other programs in 
Bangladesh to counter terrorism, including a wide range of 
training under the Anti-Terrorist Assistance program 
coordinated by the State Department.  USAID and Public 
Affairs Section programs address root causes of extremism 
through outreach to leaders of influence (including religious 
figures) and to madrassas. Two initial Cricket Diplomacy 
events to promote better relations between police and the 
communities they serve have been smashing successes (Reftel 
B). The Embassy plans to soon begin a multiyear community 
policing program to further deny space to terrorists. 
 
¶10. (C) The USG also has started human rights training for 
the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), whose history of alleged 
human rights violations prevented earlier engagement. The 
number of people reportedly killed in gun battles with RAB 
has decreased significantly since mid-2007, and the initial 
U.S. training is designed to further improve RAB's human 
rights record. During your visit, a Department of Defense 
legal team and senior members of the U.S. International 
Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program will be in 
Dhaka finalizing the training schedule. The Awami League 
government has expressed strong support for the program. 
However, a recent decision by the State Department's Bureau 
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to deny training to most 
senior RAB officials could undermine the effectiveness of the 
program (Reftel C). 
 
------------ 
DEVELOPMENT 
------------ 
 
¶11. (U) Your visit will come shortly after our "America Week" 
program, a public outreach event to promote bilateral 
relations in Barisal Division. Barisal and Khulna Divisions 
bore the brunt of Cyclone Sidr in November 2007. The cyclone 
killed thousands of people, destroyed the homes and 
 
DHAKA 00000121  003 OF 003 
 
 
livelihoods of millions, and left $2.3 billion of damage to 
infrastructure.  As part of an interagency effort, the U.S. 
military played a crucial role in relief efforts by 
airlifting vitally needed water, food and emergency supplies 
to Bangladeshis in remote areas. The $6.5 million budgeted by 
the Department of Defense for building cyclone shelters and 
schools in the affected areas thus is most welcome. This 
effort will dovetail nicely with plans for spending some $75 
million in USAID funding appropriated by Congress for 
post-Sidr relief. 
 
¶12. (SBU) On top of natural disasters, inflation -- 
particularly of food prices -- remains dangerously high for 
Bangladeshis, 86 percent of whom subsist on less than $2 a 
day. (Note: The Awami League promised in its campaign to make 
fighting inflation its top priority. Prices for basic 
commodities such as rice skyrocketed during the Caretaker 
Government, though they have decreased somewhat in part 
because of the global economic downturn. End note.) Our 
assistance levels remain high -- some $150 million last year. 
More important, economic growth, fueled by ready-made garment 
exports, has surpassed 6% annually over the past six years. 
The new government has identified power generation and 
education as two top priority development areas, which if 
successfully pursued should help lay the fondation for 
healthy, longterm economic growth. During a courtesy call by 
the Ambassador, Foreign Affairs Minister Dipu Moni urged the 
U.S. Congress to pass the New Partnership for Development 
Act, which would make Bangladeshi apparel duty-free to the 
U.S., and expressed keen interest to access Millenium 
Challenge funds (Reftel D). 
 
----------- 
YOUR VISIT 
----------- 
 
¶13.  (C) Thank you for making the effort to come to 
Bangladesh. The visit will highlight the importance the USG 
places on working constructively with Bangladesh on a wide 
range of issues. You will be meeting officials of a new 
government who are grappling with hugely important issues 
such as how to improve regional counterterrorism cooperation, 
how to strengthen Bangladesh's own counterterrorism 
capabilities, and how to lay the foundation for extended 
economic growth. Your visit will provide a unique opportunity 
to encourage the new government in this work and to stress 
the importance of good governance, cooperation with the 
opposition, and enactment of the counterterrorism ordinances 
passed by the Caretaker Government. The Government of 
Bangladesh will be eager to hear your assurances that the USG 
will continue a wide range of assistance. 
MORIARTY