Untold Facts

Personal Guilts versus Institutional Liabilities

That a weighty organization of international fame has urged the Bangladesh Government to ban the functioning of the RAB and the DGFI though has some point to ponder about but could only be suicidal if taken seriously for consideration.

The RAB or the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh formed some years ago for containing more effectively the rising crimes and of their ever-increasing manifestations that the normal police force with backlogs of the past could do but not that quite efficiently. I am not aware of everything of the new organization, but we had certain effectiveness that the people appreciated from the beginning. Despite their effectiveness, they had also lapses, particularly in the matter of the ‘cross fire deaths’. Provided these undesirable incidents could be eliminated, there should be no grumbling about their operation and effectiveness. I am sure that there is no peace-loving citizen who is not seriously worried about the rising crimes and criminalities in the society that effective deterrent like the BAB could contain appreciably. But that is not enough, neither could only physical deterrents alone do it efficiently; what is more needed is to reorganize thought processes of our younger generation through moral reinforcement by way of our original Islamic values and tradition of TAQWA.

So far as the DGFI (Defense Forces Intelligence) issue is concerned the suggestion by the organization to ban its operation, and possibly the organization itself wholesale is ridiculous. That I am sure clearly implied wholesale liquidation of the Armed Forces of Bangladesh as some elements have been making suggestion for some time back How could one think of a defense force comprising three major wings- army, air and navy- and yet nothing to keep on intelligence surveillance into their operational issues and further than those of external matters linked to various secrets of the armed forces. Security of any country is not only things internal in the armed forces but more so in possible outside issues that remain in activities of other people too outside the forces.

Well, if the activities of the RAB and the defense forces intelligence, at any time, amount to interference of liberty of common citizens that should not be acceptable. But again, if such activities amount to treasonable offence in secret, and yet not traceable and not rounded up by civilian intelligence units, why could not the RAB’s and the army intelligence units be employed to do needful bits in such relevant matters?

Excesses may be complained of and rightly so. Any such excess may not be difficult to identify and persons responsible for any guilt may well be taken into custody and handed in to the due process of law. Onus of personal liability of any guilt should be one’s own and may not be shifted to and burdened on the institution the person may have been working. This should be a simple task not to be confused with the offender’s parent organization.

The organization proposing the banning of these two useful organizations has suggested nothing different as throwing the baby away with the bath water.

Author: M.T. Hussain