Dealing with terrorism in Bandarban

Already overwhelmed with incursions into border areas by Myanmar rebels as well as that country's Border Guard Police (BGP) personnel and  members  of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) in its south-eastern districts, Bangladesh is now facing a new threat from homegrown terrorists in the hill district of Bandarban. Members of this so-called Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) recently unleashed a reign of terror in the Ruma and Thanchi areas by firing at the police station and conducting armed robbery in banks. They also kidnapped the manager of Sonali Bank, Ruma branch during the robbery and later released him, thanks to the quick action by the elite force, RAB. The government appears to have taken the matter with due seriousness and promised coordinated action by the members of the army, the border guard and the police to destroy the new terrorist outfit called KNF.

The objective of the attacks on police station and the act of robbery by the  armed group was not purely one of money collection. Clearly, its aim was to declare its presence in the area through creating panic among the local population. Reports coming from Ruma and Thanchi areas testify to this. So, the terrorist outfit has to some extent succeeded in its primary objective of striking fear among the local population. Obviously, this does not speak well for the local administration. The way the armed group overpowered the  Ansars and police force guarding the offices of the local administration and seized some 14 pieces of arms including a submachine gun from them, beat up banks officials at Ruma and Thanchi during the robberies has made people there panicky. Surprise is the hallmark of any terrorist attack and the job of those on guard at sensitive places such as banks, government offices and police stations is to be prepared for such attacks. But they were not, so far as the reports go. However, it is definitely reassuring for the local population that the home minister went to the places where the terrorist attacks took place and promised stern measures against the KNF terrorists.

It is indeed good news that the government has finally swung into action to combat terrorism in the areas infested by these elements. But the question is why such preparations were not taken from the government's side long before the situation came to a head? It is said that the so-called KNF group has not been created overnight and, according to some security experts, the group consists of members from ethnic groups, namely, Bom, Pangkhwa, Lusai, Khiang, Mro and Khumi. The very fact that members of all these very small ethnic groups could make a common cause with the armed group known as KNF is concerning. For the name of the group reflects that it has a political agenda. When something becomes a cause and a group begins to claim as such, then it is a serious issue and cannot be taken lightly. It is said that all the small ethnic groups who have reportedly sworn their allegiance to the KNF feel that they got short shrift from the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord reached in December, 1997. In fact, the majority ethnic minorities populating the Chittagong (CTG) Hill Tracts were Chakma and Marma. So, they became the main beneficiaries of the peace deal.  Actually, the CHT peace accord was signed between the Bangladesh Government and the Parbatya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), then an overwhelmingly Chakma-dominated insurgent group. Small wonder that other small groups of people living in the CHT districts who had their separate ethnicities and cultural identities were left out in the cold. That means, sometime somebody would begin to talk about them, their rights and so on and they will listen. Nathan Bom, from the Bom community, one of these marginalised ethnic groups of the CHT, is learnt have been leading the KNF. A disgruntled former Dhaka University student, who failed to land a good job or start a business after graduation, Nathan Bom, received training in armed insurgency from different places from across the border both in India and Myanmar and has finally formed this armed group called KNF. But however modest this person's background might be or whatever has led him to become an outlaw, frustration or otherwise, he and his organisation now pose a significant security threat to the country. KNF, definitely, has external connections and has sympathisers across the border. It is said that the Mizos of Mizoram, an Indian state bordering Bangladesh, are sympathetic to the Kuki-Chin people of Bangladesh and have even been calling for giving shelter to people from this ethnic group infiltrating into Mizoram. Their bond lies in their religious belief: Christianity. The Chakmas and Marma, on the other hand, are mainly Buddhists. These marginally small ethnic groups are mostly inhabitants of Ruma, Barkal, Baghaichhari, Roangchhari, Bilaichhari of Bandarban district. Notably, these areas are close to the Chin state of Myanmar and Mizoram in India. Unsurprisingly, these ethnic minority groups of Bangladesh have cross-border connections and Nathan Bom of KNF took advantage of these connections to grow into a security threat to Bangladesh. While addressing the KNF-led terrorist attacks in Bandarban, the government will be required to exercise caution so that the entire issue is not looked upon as a purely law and order problem. For the terrorism unleashed by KNF has its political dimension, too, because the terrorist outfit claims to be representing the aforementioned ethnic groups living in that locality.

Evidently, the government is aware of this caveat and would reach out to those marginalised communities that KNF says it represents and try to address their genuine grievances.

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