Bangladesh not high risk from militancy
Says British envoy
British High Commissioner in Dhaka Stephen Evans has said his country does not see Bangladesh at high risk from militancy due to its social fabrics, despite threats by individuals or groups having terror links.
“It is very fortunate that the social and cultural background of Bangladesh is not like other troubled countries in the region,” Evans told the agency in an interview.
He described Bangladeshi society as “broadly tolerant, respectful to other faiths” and where the large majority “is not attracted to extremist interpretation of Islam”, a feature that worked as a “basic resistance” against terrorist ideals.
His comments came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina two days ago and expressed Washington's willingness to work with Bangladesh in more areas against militancy.
The British diplomat said “the only way to effectively combat terrorism” is cooperation between countries, and London cooperated with a wide range of international partners including Bangladesh.
Evans said “information sharing” is the “core area” of mutual assistance in handling militancy while sharing best practices and “actual law enforcement are two other fields where concerned Bangladeshi and British authorities could work together to address “specific cases”.
Describing legal and illegal movement of militant funds as “lifeblood” of terrorism, Evans said London will continue cooperation also in “tracking and taking appropriate actions” against terror financing.
Asked for the British view of the initiative for trial Bangla-speaking war crime suspects, he said it was “absolutely” a right thing to expose them to trial if there were evidences.
“We appreciate the initiative but expect the international standard maintained in the process and the right to defence of the accused ensured.”
He also said Bangladesh could share his country's legal and technical assistance beyond government levels to ensure a fair trial, as Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said investigators are already gathering war crimes evidence from British archives to frame charges against the suspects.
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