A troubling sequence of events that must not be repeated
Sunday's clash between demonstrating Ansar members and students is a deeply troubling development with potential security implications for the country. Reportedly, the clash occurred after the former kept the gates of the Secretariat locked throughout the day despite government assurances of addressing their demands, including job nationalisation and abolishing the mandatory, unpaid leave system. Things turned violent around 9:20pm when a large crowd comprising students and general people responded to a call to free trapped officials, leading to at least 50 getting injured, before the army eventually intervened to restore order.
This is but the latest example of the chaos that surfaced across different sectors after the interim government took over on August 9. The frequency and intensity of protests by various interest groups have escalated to a point that police on Sunday night banned all sorts of demonstrations near the Secretariat and the residence of the chief adviser. The Ansar development is particularly alarming as it showed the lack of trust and discipline partly resulting from years of politicisation. One may recall how in 2023 a bill was proposed in parliament that would have given Ansar battalions—an auxiliary force—the authority to detain criminals, search bodies or seize goods, turning them into a parallel police force. The role of Ansar in the bloody clashes that preceded the fall of Awami League also left deep scars within this 55,000-strong force.
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There are three branches of Ansar: General Ansar, Battalion Ansar, and Village Defence Party (VDP). The General Ansar's demands for job nationalisation, rooted in grievances over low pay and lack of benefits, have been brewing for some time. But Sunday's development cannot be seen just as a reaction to the failure to address those grievances. After the incident, Nahid Islam, the information and broadcasting adviser, stated that continued demonstration even after government assurances was "part of a conspiracy". The director general of Ansar and VDP went as far as to say those who protested and clashed were not Ansar members, labelling them "outsiders" with ulterior motives. Investigations are currently under way. Already, 377 Ansars were sent to jail in four cases after being taken to a Dhaka court on Monday, while nine senior officials were transferred. We hope the probe into their activities will unearth any potential conspiracy and lead to actions to restore discipline within the force.
But that doesn't take away from the need to fulfil the legitimate demands of general members of Ansar. The formation of a seven-member committee to examine their demands is a positive step, but it must be followed by concrete actions. The authorities also need to take stern action to prevent such security meltdowns from recurring. Given what has occurred surrounding the Ansar force in recent times, we feel a comprehensive review of the internal situation in the force has become essential. It must be done with an aim to reduce our vulnerability to such incidents in our security landscape in the future.
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