‘Who has RAB’s reins?’

Who in Bangladesh is actually in control of RAB or Rapid Action Battalion?

The question was raised on Saturday at a roundtable discussion on the state of law and order in the country, which brought together former police chiefs and civil servants, academics, editors, and analysts.

A former police chief suggested that RAB be given ‘training on how to behave’.

Most speakers were critical of “political inference” in the law-enforcement machine including RAB.

“There are some who believe that what cannot be dealt within the law should be dealt outside the law,” said former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nurul Huda.

“People apparently supported Operation Clean Heart (2003) or for that matter ‘crossfires’ because they suffered denial of justice for long … they saw solution in the extra-judicial executions. But this cannot be encouraged in a civilized society.”

The former IGP said one must look at “the historical context” that led to the creation of RAB.

He said RAB needed to be reformed not disbanded, as demanded by its founder Khaleda Zia, when ‘reform’ meant ‘professionalism’.

“If you want to bring about professionalism, the process of appointment has to be transparent, they have to have training on how to behave.”

“If you go to police, they will tell you to go to RAB,” Nurul Huda said, “this is because they (police) are not being allowed to function. So they tend to be apathetic to their duty.”

Mozammel Babu, chief editor at Ekattor TV, referred to the 2009 anti-terrorism law, amended in 2013, to come up with a proposal: assign RAB or such a special unit to combat serious crimes such as militancy, terrorism and drug cartels. “Under penal code, the police are enough to deal with the rest,” he said.

Information Commissioner Professor Dr Sadeka Halim spoke about the attitude of the law-enforcers and raised questions about RAB’s accountability.

“It is important to see if those who enforce law see themselves as servants of law,” said the professor, “and is the force (RAB) we are discussing even authorised to make arrests?”

Dr Halim said: “Those in this force are never brought to justice under the criminal procedure. There are either ‘closed’ or transferred.

“They are sent to the hill tracts region, and you call it ‘punishment transfer’.”

Dr Halim and several others referred to the recent killing of a Upazila chairman in Feni district town which they called a very public incident when police or RAB failed to respond quickly.

“Where were the police when it happened?” said Sakhawat Hossain, a former Election Commissioner. “Couldn’t they rush to the scene? They didn’t or couldn’t because they were not being allowed to work.”

“Who has authorised RAB to arrest, kidnap and kill?” said Hossain, retired Brigadier General. “What’s the command structure of RAB?”

Police feel they “are not allowed to function”, he said, “So who is enforcing the law? … the army is not designed to do this.”

Gunmen blocked the Phulgazi chairman Ekramul Haque’s SUV in front of a cinema hall at the heart of Feni district town, hurled bombs, shot him and finally set the vehicle on fire with the helpless public representative trapped inside.

Toufique Imrose Khalidi, Editor-in-Chief of bdnews24.com, questioned the rapid response capability of law-enforcers such as RAB when they were nowhere to be seen as Haque was being brutally murdered at 11am in the crowded city centre.

“Are these people – the district administration, police or RAB -- not motivated enough? Why can’t they deliver? Is it a question of efficiency?

“Yes, politicisation is a key problem everywhere, starting from civil service to army where loyalty to political power mattered more than anything else making professionalism a huge casualty.

Nothing would work if there were no political will at the top to let people work, he said, and getting the right people to do the job was crucial. “We often see loyal people being appointed to key positions who may be committed but not competent enough.

“A combination of commitment and competence is the key,” he said.

“You couldn’t possibly discuss rule of law sitting next to a corrupt businessman or a corrupt retired civil servant or a corrupt journalist.”

The discussion, held at a Dhaka hotel and hosted by the Institute of Conflict, Law and Development Studies (ICLDS), was “titled “Rule of Law, Citizen Rights and the Role of Law Enforcing Agencies: Recent Thoughts”.

ICLDS Vice-Chair Barrister Tania Amir moderated the three-hour discourse broadcast live on Ekattor TV.

Those present and the speakers included Prime Minister’s International Affairs Advisor Dr Gowher Rizvi, Professor Abdul Mannan, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Enamul Haque, ICLDS Executive Director retired Maj Gen Md Abdur Rashid, who read out a paper to kickstart the discussions, Bhorer Kagoj Editor Shyamol Dutta, Bangladesh Protidin Editor Naem Nizam, election observer Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, and businessman Annisul Huq.