C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000057
SIPDIS
TO S/CT'S AMBASSADOR DAILEY, SETH BAILEY AND EMILY GOLDMAN
EO 12958 DECL: 01/14/2019
TAGS PTER, PREL, KDEM, PGOV, IN, BG">BG
SUBJECT: INDIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER EXPECTS CLOSER
COUNTERTERRORISM COOPERATION WITH NEW BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT
REF: A. 08 NEW DELHI 2830 B. 08 STATE 128554 Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)
------
SUMMARY
-------
1. (C) The Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh told Ambassador Moriarty on 1/13 India expected improved cooperation on security and other issues with the new Awami League government. Counterterrorism cooperation would be the central issue of discussion when the Indian Minister of External Affairs visits Dhaka in early February. The High Commissioner spoke favorably of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's call for a regional task force to fight terrorism, but stressed the importance of bilateral as well as multilateral cooperation. The Embassy will soon propose to the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT) a project to bring together civil society representatives and government officials from throughout South Asia to help advance regional counterterrorism cooperation.
--------------------------------------------- -----------
INDIA STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVED CT COOPERATION
--------------------------------------------- -----------
2. (C) Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty expressed pleasure over the December 29 Parliamentary election landslide victory by the Awami League, which traditionally had warm relations with New Delhi. He told Ambassador Moriarty that improving security cooperation would be the top Indian priority with the new Bangladeshi government. Indian Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee planned to visit Dhaka on February 8 for talks that would center primarily on counterterrorism issues. Pinak said the Minister would welcome Hasina's call for a joint task force on counterterrorism. Although India would prefer a primarily bilateral engagement, India understood that Bangladesh might insist on a regional task force to provide Hasina political cover from allegations she was too close to India. Either way, the High Commissioner stressed the importance that the task force be action-oriented and not become yet another regional talk shop. (Note: India frequently argues that international Islamic terrorists use Bangladesh as a safe haven and often cross its porous border 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 use Bangladesh as a safe haven. End note.)
3. (C) Ambassador Moriarty said the U.S. Government understood the need for regional counterterrorism cooperation and was considering "Track Two" programs in which civil society would promote closer coordination among South Asian nations. Pinak said such programs were "always welcome." The High Commissioner also responded positively when the Ambassador suggested Hasina should consider appointing a counterterrorism czar whose job would be to improve coordination among the many Bangladeshi agencies with security responsibilities.
Pinak also agreed when the Ambassador argued the Hasina government should not disband the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). (Note: The RAB has emerged as the country's premier counterterrorism force but is viewed with suspicion by some Awami League leaders because it was established by the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party. End note.) The Ambassador stressed that the USG had started human rights training for RAB. He added that the RAB was the enforcement organization best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
--------------------------------------------- --
TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION
--------------------------------------------- --
4. (SBU) Pinak recounted that in a meeting with Sheikh Hasina immediately after the elections she expressed a desire to invest heavily in Bangladesh's moribund railway system. This included reconnecting the Bangladeshi railroad system to Agartala, the capital of the bordering Indian state of Tripura. Pinak noted he had also met the new Water Resources Minister, Romesh Chandra Sen, on 12/13. (Note: Bangladeshi media reported the following day that the Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission would likely meet soon to try and resolve simmering disputes over sharing the water of rivers that flow from India into Bangladesh. End note.) The High Commissioner also said India would offer to sell up to 250
DHAKA 00000057 002 OF 002
megawatts of power from a new 750-megawatt plant near Agartala to Bangladesh, which suffers from chronic energy shortages. He acknowledged, however, the cost of the electricity had yet to be negotiated, and Bangladesh would have to build costly infrastructure to connect the plant with its national power grid. Pinak predicted Indian companies would be interested in investing in Bangladesh under the new Awami League government. Investment from information technology firms would depend in part on their ability to train local employees and Bangladeshi government support through activities such as the creation of technology centers.
--------------------------------------------- ---------
COMMENT: BRIGHTER DAYS FOR AN OFTEN ROCKY RELATIONSHIP
--------------------------------------------- ---------
5. (C) The Awami League victory augers well for a bilateral relationship that often founders on New Delhi's charges that Bangladesh does not do enough to fight terrorists who target India. Sheikh Hasina's immediate call for a regional counterterrorism task force and India's initial positive response suggest a strong possibility of enhanced cooperation on this issue of huge importance to U.S. interests. It also creates a better environment for the USG to encourage counterterrorism cooperation in South Asia in accordance with the goals set by the Regional Security Initiative conference held in New Delhi in August 2008 (Reftel A). To build on this momentum, Embassy Dhaka will propose to S/CT the use of Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Projects funds for a program to bring together South Asian civil society representatives and government officials to encourage security cooperation (Reftel B). MORIARTY
--------------------------------------
US embassy cables: UK police trained Bangladeshi paramilitaries condemned for human rights abuses
Thursday, 14 May 2009, 08:08
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000482
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR H
EO 12958 DECL: 05/13/2019
TAGS PTER, PGOV, PREL, HYMPSK, MARR, KPAO, UK, BG">BG
SUBJECT: FINDING COMMON GROUND ON COUNTERRORISM
WORKING
WITH THE UK
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)
------
SUMMARY
-------
1. (C) The U.S. and the United Kingdom share common counterterrorism goals in Bangladesh and we have worked together on specific issues in the past. Embassy Dhaka and the British High Commission reviewed our efforts and agreed on several areas of cooperation at an inaugural counterterrorism quarterly meeting. Specifically, we agreed trying to arrange a visit to London and Washington for senior Bangladeshi officials to view both countries' national security systems. The missions also agreed to work closely on human rights training for the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and on promoting curriculum reform at Bangladesh's unregulated madrassas. The missions identified several other areas in which coordinated action could promote badly needed security sector reform in Bangladesh.
--------------------------------------------- -
COMMON CT GOAL: PROMOTE SECURITY SECTOR REFORM
--------------------------------------------- -
2. (SBU) British High Commissioner Stephen Evans and Ambassador Moriarty led an inaugural counterterrorism quarterly meeting between our two missions on May 13. Although members of the two missions have met individually to discuss counterterrorism issues and work together on specific projects, this forum provided an opoprtunity to discuss broad goals and develop strategies to work collaboratively. Several common areas of interest quickly emerged, most prominently the desire to promote security sector reform in Bangladesh. Evans said this would be the center of discussion at an inaugural Joint Working Group meeting on counterterrorism between Britain and Bangladesh, led by British Security Minister Lord West, in late June, and promised a quick read-out of the results to the Embassy.
3. (SBU) Perhaps the key element of security sector reform is building a healthier civil-military relationship. The dysfunctional relationship dates from the numerous coups in Bangladesh's early years and was recently exacerbated by the February 25-26 border guard mutiny against army officers. The Ambassador detailed Post's plans to invite senior Bangladeshi officials to participate in an Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies workshop in November to exchange views on civil-military relations and national security systems. The two missions agreed the workshop would be most effective if a Bangladeshi delegation of military, government and Parliament representatives first visited the U.S. and the United Kingdom to learn about our national security structures. The missions will seek a visit in September; Post will work with SCA to ensure the Washington leg includes visits to Capitol Hill, the Department of Defense, the State Department and the National Security Council.
4. (C) We agreed to jointly engage Bangladesh's newly formed National Committee on Militancy Resistance and Prevention, a high-level group led by Home Affairs State Minister Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj, who has worked closely with the Embassy on security issues. Local media has reported the committee will focus in part on anti-extremism messaging, an area in which both missions already are actively engaged and can work more cooperatively. The U.S. and United Kingdom also agreed to jointly sound out the Government of Bangladesh on its post-mutiny reorganization plans for the Bangladesh Rifles and then work together to help make it a more effective border patrol force.
-------------------------------------------
COMMON CT GOAL: PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS IN RAB
-------------------------------------------
5. (SBU) The U.S. and UK representatives reviewed our ongoing training to make the RAB a more transparent, accountable and human-rights compliant paramilitary force. The British have been training RAB for 18 months in areas such as investigative interviewing techniques and rules of engagement. They said that the training had been widely disseminated within RAB and that they were undertaking an assessment of its effectiveness. The Embassy described plans
DHAKA 00000482 002 OF 002
to imbed two U.S. marshals within RAB for three months to help set up internal affairs, use of force and rules of engagement systems. High Commissioner Evans suggested the marshals stop in London on the way to Bangladesh to meet with British police who have delivered human rights training to RAB. He said the visit would ensure maximum coordination between the U.S. and British programs; the Ambassador enthusiastically supported the proposal.
--------------------------------------------- -------
MARITIME SECURITY, POLICING, AIRPORT SAFETY AND MORE
--------------------------------------------- -------
6. (C) Evans promised to send the Embassy a "lessons learned" document from a just-concluded combined British-Bangladesh maritime security exercise in which U.S. Department of Defense personnel participated. He noted the U.K. did not expect to have any more Royal Navy ships visit Bangladesh before 2011 and asked whether the United States could take the lead in organizing a follow-up exercise. With the U.S. and Britain both ramping up programs to develop community policing, we agreed to create an informal consultative group led by the British that would include other international missions in Dhaka with policing projects. The two missions also agreed to have their two development agencies, USAID and the U.K. Department for International Development, meet to discuss strategies for supporting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's plan to develop standardized curriculum for thousands of unregulated Islamic madrassa schools. (Note: The Embassy has submitted a 1207 proposal for a madrassa curriculum development program. End note). Finally, noting the horrendous safety gaps at Dhaka's international airport, the Ambassador and High Commissioner agreed to sound out contacts within their respective governments, the international airlines that serve Dhaka, and the Bangladeshi state airline to determine how best to improve security.
-----------------------
CONCLUSION: NOW WE KNOW
-----------------------
7. (C) The inaugural U.S.-British quarterly meeting provided each side with a much better understanding of what the other was doing to counter terrorism and extremism in Bangladesh. Not surprisingly, our counterterrorism strategies and goals are closely aligned, allowing ample room for close coordination and, in some cases, joint programs. Given that Sheikh Hasina's new government has made security a top priority, the chances of U.S.-British joint efforts bearing fruit are high indeed. MORIARTY
----------------------------------------
US embassy cables: Mixed assessment for controversial Bangladeshi paramilitary force
Monday, 11 August 2008, 08:10
C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 000856
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/PB, SCA/FO, DRL, S/CT AND G
EO 12958 DECL: 08/10/2018
TAGS PGOV, PHUM, PINR, MASS, PREL, BG">BG
SUBJECT: ENGAGING BANGLADESH'S RAPID ACTION BATTALION: VISIT BY USG INTERAGENCY ASSESSMENT TEAM
REF: STATE 61983
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
Summary =======
1. (C) The leadership of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has pledged to provide additional information about alleged human rights violations committed by members of the force since its inception in 2004. This pledge came during two days of intensive fact-finding and discussions with members of an interagency USG team that visited Bangladesh to assess both the RAB's current operating procedures regarding human rights violations as well as possibilities for engagement. The RAB seeks a broad engagement with the USG including human rights and counterterrorism training and recognizes the need to address allegations of past abuses. While there are lingering concerns about the RAB's human rights record, there is a widespread belief within civil society that the RAB has succeeded in reducing crime and fighting terrorism, making it in many ways Bangladesh's most respected police unit. A possible stumbling block moving forward is inertia within some levels of the government bureaucracy, primarily within Bangladesh's Home Ministry, which we are trying to overcome through repeated high-level interventions with Bangladeshi government decision-makers.
RAB Pledges Full Support After Meetings with USG Team
=======================
2. (C) A USG interagency team from the Departments of State, Defense, and Justice visited Dhaka July 12 - 16 to conduct an assessment of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), focusing on whether and how the USG might engage with the force. During the visit, the team met with the RAB senior leadership, visited the training academy outside of Dhaka, and visited two of the RAB's operational battalions (in Narayangang and Sirajgang). In addition to the meetings with the RAB, the team met with representatives from civil society, including journalists, human rights groups, and business leaders, in both Dhaka and the field. On their final day, the team met with officials from the Ministries of Foreign and Home Affairs. Representatives of the Embassy's inter-agency Counter Terrorism Working Group also participated in the assessment team's meetings.
3. (C) The assessment team's visit followed several months of intensive discussions between the RAB and the Embassy, as well as meetings with senior visiting officials, including DRL DAS Barks-Ruggles and S/CT Coordinator Ambassador Dailey. In these previous meetings, USG officials informed the RAB of our desire to help improve its human rights record and build its counter terrorism and law enforcement capacity but underscored the need for greater transparency and accountability. The officials explained that our ability to offer training or assistance is currently constrained by the RAB's alleged human rights violations, which have rendered the organization ineligible to receive training and assistance according to the Leahy legislation.
4. (C) The two days of meetings with the RAB, therefore, focused on gaining a better understanding of the RAB's past human rights record and the procedures in place to prevent, investigate and adjudicate abuses. The team was briefed on the RAB's efforts to incorporate human rights training into the curriculum at the training academy and at the unit level. This training, some of which is conducted by a local human rights group, is given to all new personnel transferring into the RAB. (Note: Although it shares our concerns, the British High Commission has already started a pilot round of Human Rights training with the RAB; the British will closely monitor program impact before launching a second round, which will require Ministerial approval.) According to RAB officials, allegations of abuses are handled both through internal disciplinary measures as well as through an administrative investigation by magistrates and the local court system. In response to repeated requests from the team for greater information about the magistrates' reports, the RAB's senior leadership pledged to exploreproviding this information to the USG.
5. (C) The discussions with the RAB also provided the assessment team with insight into the areas in which USG assistance, at both the tactical and operational level, could be most effective. The RAB also provided additional information about its organizational structure and personnel policies, which will help us determine how individuals and units might be held accountable for past abuses.
Meetings with Civil Society Provide Nuanced View
=========================
6. (C) In order to provide the assessment team with a balanced view of the RAB, we arranged meetings with members of civil society in Dhaka and during field visits. As a result, team members were able to hear from journalists, academics, human rights advocates, and business leaders, and informally through people requesting assistance from the RAB, about perceptions of the RAB's past and current conduct. There were reports of abuses and a pattern of misrepresentation by the RAB regarding so-called "encounter/crossfire killings." The Assessment Team interviewed NGOs, media personnel, and members of civil society who reported that members of the RAB, possibly on instruction from senior government officials, have unlawfully used lethal force to eliminate their targets. All we talked with agreed, however, that the RAB's human rights performance had improved during the current Caretaker Government and under the leadership of the current Director General (a career police officer and DS/ATA graduate).
7. (C) A strong message from many civil society interlocutors was that the RAB enjoys a great deal of respect and admiration from a population scarred by decreasing law and order in the last decade. Moreover, given the persistent corruption and ineffectiveness of other elements of the police, the RAB has come to be seen by many as a preferred alternative. According to some NGO sources, people in remote areas, particularly women, feel more comfortable coming forward to the RAB because they think their complaints will be dealt with in a more effective and honest manner. The team noted that the RAB and many civil society representatives seem prepared to accept that some notorious individuals will die in encounters with the RAB, and they seem to prefer that outcome as opposed to the chance of the currently ineffective and backlogged court system acquitting the guilty. What this highlights is that our desire to improve respect for human rights will require not only engagement with the RAB, but efforts to help improve other elements of the Bangladeshi judicial systems and police. Our recently approved 1210 proposal would establish a community policing program that could assist such effort.
Bureaucracy is Potential Stumbling Block
======================================
8. (C) The team's final meetings with representatives of the Foreign Ministry and Home Ministry indicated that some levels of the government bureaucracy may still be reluctant to share information about past alleged human rights abuses. In 2007, an inter-agency Embassy team met with GOB counterparts to develop a mechanism for investigating allegations of human rights violations by the security forces, including RAB. This responsibility was given to a Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, but despite some positive initial meetings there has been little tangible outcome from these sessions. During the Assessment Team's meeting with the Acting Home Secretary, he displayed little enthusiasm for taking the steps needed to move ahead with an engagement program. The team underscored that it needed information from the Home Ministry regarding abuses by the RAB in order to effectively vet candidates in accordance with Leahy legislation. Fortunately, this meeting coincided with Home Secretary Abdul Karim's visit to Washington, which provided senior officials in SCA, DRL and DOD to reinforce the importance of GOB information-sharing about past abuses.
Comment =======
9. (C) Embassy Dhaka greatly appreciates the efforts of State, DoD, and Justice to send the assessment team to Bangladesh to interact with the RAB. Post looks forward to receiving the results of the assessment team's analysis of the RAB. Our multi-agency and multi-disciplinary team signaled the seriousness with which the USG views potential RAB engagement. We were clear in our meetings with the GOB that we are eager to engage, but committed to doing so in a manner consistent with Leahy legislation. We expect that the Bangladeshi Government will reciprocate by providing us with some of the additional information we need to move forward. At the same time, we may need to ensure that a few unenthusiastic bureaucrats do not foil plans for further cooperation that are strongly supported by the RAB and at least some senior government officials. Embassy Dhaka looks forward to working with the inter-agency team in Washington as we consider next steps in this process.
10. (U) The inter-agency assessment team has cleared this message. Moriarty
