M A Hossain 28/5/2018
Every sensible media in Bangladesh and abroad are highly applauding Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her heroic drive against drugs. As the daughter of the founding father of the country, Hasina has exhibited her guts in instructing the members of the law enforcing agencies, especially Bangladesh police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in eliminating drug dealers with the noble goal of saving the nation from the notorious grips of drugs, such as yaba, cannabis etc. Every day, over 8 million pieces of yaba- a pill-shaped dangerous drug are entering from Myanmar into Bangladesh. This initiative of the Premier was extremely essential as the police headquarters had already created a database of over 26 thousand drug dealers and their patrons in Bangladesh. According to the newspaper report, some of the drug dealers are possessing various types of firearms including an AK-47 assault rifle, submachine guns[also bump stocks fitted semi-automatic rifle], etc. to confront the law enforcing agencies in case of necessity. Several mafia dons with political backing, including Abdur Rahman Bodi, Shamim Osman, Azmeri Osman, Joynal Hazari, Abu Taheer, etc. are directly associated with the drug rackets.
But, the drug traders are not sitting idle as the countrywide crackdown on drugs have been continuing. They reportedly are using their dirty money in buying favor from several unscrupulous newspapers, Television channels, and rights groups. They even are planning on sending some local rights activists to the US and EU countries to provide false allegations of gross extrajudicial killings of the political rivals of the ruling party by branding them as drug traders. Some of the propagandists hired by the drug rackets are comparing Sheikh Hasina’s war against drug with the anti-drug offensives of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. A godfather from Narayangonj city[in Bangladesh] is opening an online petition on the change. or petition site; branding Sheikh Hasina’s anti-drug offensives as ‘crime against humanity.’
Former Inspector General of police Muhammad Nurul Huda told a newspaper, “Killing drug peddlers in the name of shootouts can partly solve the problem. It can’t be the only strategy. Law enforcers have to take other measures including a collection of intelligence, filing cases, the arrest of the patrons and finding the sources”.
Experts disagreeing with the comments of the former IGP say, unless few thousand drug traders are eliminated and the supply channel of yaba, in particular from Myanmar not destroyed, the nation cannot be saved from the drug menace. They said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, can deploy the members of the Armed Forces under three months anti-drug offensives. Members of the law enforcing agencies should also be granted indemnity[similar as President Rodrigo Duterte has done in the Philippines] for the case of shootouts incidents. Otherwise, the powerful drug rackets may soon go to the apex court seeking directives of stopping the anti-drug offensives and or killing drug traders in shootouts.
All of the drug traders killed so far in shootouts are listed with the law enforcers as drug traders. They also face multiple criminal charges of dealing in drugs.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina needs to remember; the entire nation is with her in the ongoing anti-drug offensives. No undue pressure from any vested quarters should compel her in abruptly suspending this necessary and essential war against drugs!