Prothom Alo: After the student-people’s uprising, the country was more or less bereft its police. Members of the police force had fled, abandoning the police stations and outposts. Things have improved. But the police are not back as they were. The police force is lacking both in morale and manpower. How serious is this in relation to the country’s law and order situation and internal security?
ANM Muniruzzaman: After the student-people’s uprising, the country entered a vacuum of law and order in absence of the police. Such a situation is certainly a matter of security concern for any society and country. But it is also important to realize that any country goes through a period of unrest, to an extent, in a post-revolution period. In that sense, it must be said that Bangladesh fared much better than most countries. This is especially true in the first three days after Sheikh Hasina fled from the country on 5 August, when there was not only no police but also no government in place. Even in such circumstances it is possible to maintain peace and stability in the country by deploying other forces. It has been a month since the overthrow and while the situation has improved considerably, we still remain at a risk where law and order is concerned. We must try to emerge from this as early as possible.
Prothom Alo: As a force, the police to a great extent have lost the confidence of the people, given the manner in which they were politicized and also the brutality and armed assault they unleashed to suppress the student-people’s movement. How can this force be restructured? Many members of the police had not joined work. How can this vacuum be speedily filled?
ANM Muniruzzaman: We are aware that it is not possible to run a state without the police. The police force therefore must be reconstituted. It must be restructured. A study must be carried out on the existing state of the police force. Based on this, reforms of the police force must be taken up. Firstly the police laws must be changed and updated. Also the police recruitment process must be made transparent and in keeping with the times. The police must be trained in such a matter that they are instilled with a sense of values. The rule of law must be established in running the force. As many of the police have fled and are not resuming duties, a shortfall in manpower has emerged. This vacuum must be filled as speedily as possible. If necessary, able soldiers who have retired from the army and other armed forces, as well as reservists, can be recruited to fill the deficit in the police force.
Prothom Alo: We have seen many top criminals have been released from prison. Arms have been looted from police stations and other places. What sort of threat can these incidents pose to the country’s law and order and internal security?
ANM Muniruzzaman: During the movement, quite a few convicts broke out of several prisons in the country. Many of them were top terrors, some even convicted on charges of terrorism. I have seen in the newspapers that several top criminals have been released on bail from prison over the past few days. This is a serious threat to internal security of the country. They will have the propensity to get involved in all sorts of anti-social and illegal activities once they leave jail.
A considerable amount of arms and ammunition have also been looted from various police stations and prisons. According to the latest updates, 1,885 missing arms still remain unrecovered. A large amount of ammunition also has not been recovered. From the media we have also learnt that some specialized weapons, ammunition and other communication equipment used by the Special Security Force or SSF, have been looted too. No one but this specialised force uses such equipment. This heightens the internal security threats multiple times over. Overall, we are faced with a serious security threat. It is imperative to adopt effective measures to recover the missing arms, ammunition and other equipment.
Prothom Alo: Whether it is internal or external security threats, information and activities of the intelligence agencies is vital. During the past government, the intelligence agencies were used for party interests. In the present circumstances, how functional are the intelligence agencies and their activities? How do you see this situation in the perspective of national security?
ANM Muniruzzaman: In any country of the world, the intelligence agencies play a vital role in internal and external security. Based on the information collected, collated and analyzed by the agencies, the government gets advanced information on any security threats and can take action to prevent these in time. NSI is one of the major intelligence agencies of Bangladesh. Many of the NSI personnel did not return to their workplace after the fall of the government. As a result, the capacity of this agency has fallen considerably. Also, given their controversial role during the past government, the other intelligence agencies like DGFI and SB are also facing a stiff challenge in the new circumstances. Work has come to a sort of standstill in these institutions. Steps must be taken so that our intelligence agencies can resume work as soon as possible. It would be most unwise to allow any sort of deficiencies to linger on in these agencies…
