The Saudi government did not respond to Jamaat-e-Islami’s repeated request for help to stop war crimes trial and BNP’s request for intervention to resolve political impasse in Bangladesh, Bangla daily Prothom Alo reports.

Late King Abdullah had signed a decree (number 61646) deciding not to interfere in the internal matter of Bangladesh, according to diplomatic documents regarding Bangladesh from those leaked by WikiLeaks recently.

Fearing strains with the Sheikh Hasina led government, the Saudi government did not even respond to Khaleda Zia’s request concerning the treatment of Arafat Rahman on Saudi expenses.

The Saudi embassy in Dhaka did not comment on the issue despite being asked.

Contacted by Prothom Alo to comment on this, Mir Nasir, advisor to BNP chairperson and former Bangladeshi diplomat to Saudi Arabia said: “This is unbelievable.”

He insisted that Khaleda Zia never asked for mediation.

“I would have known if something like this had happened. This is impossible. Ziaur Rahman had a special relation to the Saudi royal family and that relation is still intact today.”

He reminisced about the close meeting between Khaleda Zia and King Abdullah at a royal palace in Mecca in 2005. He expressed doubts regarding the veracity of the Saudi cables published by WikiLeaks.

When contacted, a source from Jamaat said it would not be appropriate to comment on the issue without properly knowing the issue.

But when asked about the matter, the current Bangladeshi diplomat in Saudi Arabia Golam Mosih told Prothom Alo, that the King’s decision reflects what they have known about Saudi Arabia’s policy.

He was also confident that Saudi Arabia had not said anything to the government regarding the war crimes trial or internal political matters.

In his words, “The relation between Awami League government and the Saudi government is wonderful and it is increasing day by day. Recently during the Yemen crisis, we responded to their call when Pakistan could not. They are very pleased at this.”

Mahbub Alam, another former diplomat who had worked in Saudi Arabia, said the issue reflects the general policy followed by Saudi Arabia in not interfering in the internal matters of the non-Arab countries.

Mentioning cables sent from the Saudi embassy in Dhaka, the Saudi foreign ministry brought the letter of request of Khaleda Zia to mediate the political situation to the attention of King Abdullah in May-June 2012. But it is to be mentioned, that the foreign ministry reminded the king of the previous request by Jamaat to stop the war crimes trial in Bangladesh. The document also mentions that the Saudi King had already signed a royal decree saying that Saudi Arabia would not interfere in either cases.

The then Saudi diplomat in Dhaka Dr Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Busairi had met with Khaleda Zia on January 17, 2012 at her Gulshan office. Khaleda Zia met with the then defence minister and present King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz when she was visited Saudi Arabia in August 2012 at the invitation of the royal family.

In a cable (Memo No. 7/2, Document No. 4/1 Dated 1433 month of Rajab) to king by the foreign minister, written in the green pad of the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry in 2012, the royal decree number 61646 was mentioned. The decree stated that there would be no intervention in the internal matters of Bangladesh.

In the cable Abdullah was told that the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka had received a letter from Khaleda Zia intended for him where he was congratulated for his seventh year of assuming power and urging him to mediate a solution through talks between the political parties.

The Saudi foreign minister also wrote in his cable that the Saudi embassy in Dhaka had informed him that Bangladesh is in an unstable situation due to conflicts between the government and the opposition parties. Many opposition leaders and activists, including those of Jamaat, have been imprisoned. It also mentioned that the leaders had repeatedly hoped for Saudi Arabia’s involvement for the halting of the trial against them for war crimes in 1971. It further said Khaleda Zia’s letter came at a time when the issue of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the mediation of the political situation in Bangladesh received wide interest from the opposition.

It is mentionable that Dr Busairi was the Saudi diplomat in Dhaka for the period of six and half years from 2008 to 2014. The cables released by WikiLeaks were sent during his time.

A high ranking diplomat, who is an expert on the Saudi Royal Family and Dhaka-Riyadh relations, said about the report: “Saudi Arabia has not told the Awami League government anything in any way about the war crimes trial. The Bangladesh government itself has throughout kept them informed about the matter.”

The diplomat also mentioned that the country’s state-controlled daily Saudi Gadget has published reports in the form of post-editorials, expressing concerns about the issue. A man who had worked as a consul for the Saudi embassy in Dhaka had written regularly in it. But nothing was mentioned about stopping the trials, rather it talked of maintaining international standards.

From Islamabad

On the other hand, the Saudi embassy in Pakistan in a secret cable (No. 10/7/3 Dated 7/3/1433 English January 30, 2012) sent to the Asia office of its Foreign Ministry that the diplomat had learned from a special source that if the patriotic politicians of 1971 held in prison were put on trial, then Pakistan, especially its military, would take that as aggression. The source also said that last 90-year-old professor Golam Azam was arrested on charges of involvement with the Pakistani army in 1971 and for participation in killing during the 1971 war.
The cable also said that some retired military personnel think that India was behind this incitement and that they were trying to involve Pakistan in matter of international justice.

It is to be mentioned that the later part of this cable could not be found. But there is mention of a previous cable (No. 210/92/21/188 dated 18/3/1431, English March 4, 2010) in this, which indicates that Saudi Arabia was interested in Pakistan’s view regarding the war crimes trial. In a statement, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan had asked for the involvement of the Pakistan army to stop the trial in Bangladesh.

Arafat’s treatment

The then Saudi foreign minister Saud Al Faisal, who is currently King Salman’s foreign affairs advisor, told late King Abdullah’s special advisor in March of 2012 that the Saudi government had received a request that the treatment Arafat Rahman, son of late president Ziaur Rahman and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia, be done in the King Faisal Specialised Hospital in Riyadh on Saudi expenses.

It added that Arafat Rahman had a jail sentence for financial corruption charges and was then in treatment in Bangkok.

“We have determined that the treatment for his illness is available in Saudi Arabia as well as Thailand,” the cable further read, adding that given the situation, it would be wise to ignore the issue since it could cause tension between the Sheikh Hasina government and the Saudi government.

BNP leader and former diplomat Mir Nasir said that he had talked to former diplomat Al Busairi in Saudi Arabia about the treatment of Tarique Rahman and he had got a positive response. But he was not informed about the Arafat treatment issue.

The cables, on the other hand, show that Al Busairi expressed a negative view to his government about Khaleda’s request regarding Arafat’s treatment considering the present government’s sensitive stance on this.

Asked about the details about Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia relations disclosed in the WikiLeaks cables, M Humayun Kabir, former Bangladesh high commissioner to USA and the vice president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute told Prothom Alo: “The difference between the generally perceived notions and the reality regarding our relations with Saudi Arabia, has been uncovered. There have been a number of changes in the leadership in Saudi Arabia in the last decade. So, it is normal that there will be reflection of a realistic and mature foreign policy devoid of sentiments. We too should become unsentimental now.”