e_Paper 1-12-2016

2
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
DT
News
NASIRNAGAR ATTACK
Probe report finds no motive
• Adil Sakhawat and
Mohammad Jamil Khan
The Brahmanbaria district administration’s
report on the communal
attacks on Nasirnagar Hindus has
been unable to pinpoint perpetrators
or find a motive for the incident.
The report’s 12-point findings
describe the time line and major
incidents of the day of the attack,
all of which have already been reported
by the press.
Its conclusion says that the attack
intended to “destroy the communal
harmony among different
religious groups in Nasirnagar.”
The 76-page report, a copy of
which has been obtained by the
Dhaka Tribune, makes no headway
into who may have carried out the
said destruction or to what end.
The three-member probe committee
formed by the Brahmanbaria
district administration submitted
the report to the divisional
commissioner of Chittagong on
November 13.
The report said it had recorded
testimonies of 78 people from the
area and heard more than 100 people
in Nasirnagar Sadar and Harinber
during its investigation.
In several cases, the committee’s
findings run counter to the
findings of the Dhaka Tribune and
other news media.
Were local Muslims involved?
Videos made by witnesses during
the attack as well as accounts from
victims heard by the Dhaka Tribune
place several local influential
Muslim community members at
the forefront of that day’s attack.
The probe report’s findings, however,
point to outsiders coming to
Nasirnagar Sadar to carry out the
attack and state that “according to
witnesses those who took part in the
rallies did not carry out the attack.”
The report rather emphasises
UN: 10,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh
• AFP
At least 10,000 Rohingya have
arrived in Bangladesh in recent
weeks after fleeing violence in
neighbouring Myanmar, the United
Nations said on Wednesday.
An estimated 30,000 Rohingya,
a Muslim minority living mostly
in Myanmar, have been forced to
leave their homes since a bloody
crackdown by the army in the
western state of Rakhine.
Bangladesh has stepped up patrols
on the border to try to stop
them from entering, but last week
The file photo shows a Hindu woman holding burned puja materials. The photo was taken in Nasirnagar early last month
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
that local Muslims tried to counter
the attackers that day.
One person whose house was
attacked on that day told the Dhaka
Tribune yesterday over the phone:
“Yes, some local Muslims tried to
protect the temples and our houses
but they were very few.”
The victims said: “Most attackers
were from outside Nasirnagar
Sadar. But if some influential Muslims,
some of whom are ruling party
leaders, had not taken part in the
procession that came towards the
Hindu areas of Nasirnagar Sadar
after attending the protest in the
playground, the damage would not
have been so high.”
Among the witness statements,
only Kajal Datta of Dattapara states
that his Muslim neighbours tried to
protect the temple in his house.
But statements from other Hindus
do not mention anything like this.
it said thousands had flooded into
the country, many with nothing
but the clothes they were wearing.
“Based on reports by various
humanitarian agencies, we estimate
that there could be 10,000
new arrivals in recent weeks,” said
Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the
UN refugee agency in Bangkok.
“The situation is fast changing
and the actual number could be
much higher.”
Those interviewed by AFP inside
Bangladesh had horrifying
stories of gang rape, torture and
murder at the hands of Myanmar’s
security forces. Analysis of satellite
images by Human Rights Watch
found hundreds of buildings in Rohingya
villages have been razed.
Myanmar has denied allegations
of abuse, but has also banned foreign
journalists and independent
investigators from accessing the
area to investigate.
Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate,
has faced a growing international
backlash for what a UN
official has said amounts to a campaign
of ethnic cleansing.
Yesterday she vowed to work
Accused man gives testimony
One of the men who gave testimony
to the committee has been
widely accused by the local communities
of having instigated the
attack.
The man is Abdur Rahim, headmaster
of Ashutosh Pilot High
School and brother of the suspended
Awami League leader and Nasirnagar
Sadar union Chairman Abul
Hashem.
Several students of that school
told the Dhaka Tribune that Abdur
Rahim held a meeting inside the
school compound to help organise
the protests that ultimately led to
the attack.
Some students also claimed that
Rahim told other teachers to order
the students to attend the protests.
Some locals claimed that the
UNO permitted the rallies because
of Rahim, who had given his assurance
to make the protest peaceful.
However, Rahim’s testimony to
the committee denies all this and
reads as though the man was a bystander
to the events.
Rallies allowed despite shortage
of police
According to the report, on that day
a large number of Nasirnagar policemen
were assigned to upazila
election duty.
The day before of the attack the
OC was not also on duty. He joined
the station the next day.
To hold the protests, the organisers
sought permission from the
UNO on the night before the attack.
Despite knowing that there will be
a shortage of police members to
control such a protest and that the
OC was absent, the UNO gave permission
for arranging the protest.
The probe committee suggested
for “peace and national reconciliation”,
saying her country faced
many challenges, but did not mention
the violence in Rakhine state.
Rohingya community leaders
in Bangladesh said another 3,000
displaced Rohingya were stranded
on an island in the Naf river that
divides the two countries, attempting
to enter Bangladesh.
“They have been stuck in the
island for almost a week without
sufficient food and clothes,” Abu
Ghalib said.
But a spokesman for the Bangladesh
Border Guards said the claims
that the upazila administration and
the police should have been more
cautious.
No investigation into political
motive
Of the 15 people whose testimonies
have been described in the report,
three say political contentions may
be behind the communal attack.
However, the probe committee
did not touch on the issue itself.
It just suggested finding out the
actual person who mainly used
Rasaraj’s Facebook account to post
the controversial picture that started
it all.
Rasaraj’s statement to the
committee
Rasaraj in his statement to the
probe committee denied his involvement
with posting the picture
to his Facebook wall. His Facebook
password was known to three persons
including his younger brother
Palash, neighbour Ashutosh, and
cousin Hridoy, he said.
When he was fishing in the
marsh, he was called by Ashutosh
to return home. When he returned,
some five to six Muslim youths beat
him and later Haripur union Awami
League president along with others
handed over him to the police.
He did not know who had posted
to his Facebook wall.
The probe committee in its
recommendation suggested the
attackers should be detected and
brought under the law, victimised
Hindus should be compensated,
and views exchange meetings
with religious and political leaders
should be held to restore communal
harmony.
Asked to comment on the
shortcomings of the probe report,
committee members Assistant
Mashkate Rabbi and Additional
District Magistrate Mohammad
Shamsul Haque refused to give any
answers. •
could not be verified as the island
was not Bangladeshi territory.
Bangladesh has reinforced its
border posts and deployed coast
guard ships in an effort to prevent
a fresh influx of refugees.
In the past two weeks, Bangladeshi
border guards have prevented
hundreds of boats packed with
Rohingya women and children
from entering the country.
Nevertheless Rohingya leaders
in Bangladesh said the number of
arrivals had risen this week.
But so far little or no aid has been
provided for the new arrivals. •