Asia Security
Monitor
No. 10, January 15, 2003 Bangladesh plans to resist India’s deportation campaign;
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January 8: Taliban and al Qaeda forces have regrouped and are staging attacks from Pakistan, reports the Washington Post. In support of the recent UN report revealing al Qaeda’s resurgence in Afghanistan, Edmund McWilliams, a retired Foreign Service officer who served in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, stresses the deteriorating military and political situation in Afghanistan and warns against misplaced optimism. Afghans are increasingly disinclined to support the Karzai government or cooperate with U.S. forces as they continue to face emboldened warlords—such as the notorious Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is fighting against U.S. forces and the Afghan government—as well as errant attacks by U.S. forces and a deepening impression that an unrepresentative Tajik-dominated regime controls Kabul. January 9: After India’s early January announcement of plans to deport an estimated 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from its northeastern states, Dhaka has placed troops along the 4,000-kilometer border between the two countries on alert, reports the Press Trust of India. Indian officials claim the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants pose a serious internal security threat, and accuse them of committing crimes and working for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. Some analysts view the Indian campaign, set to begin in April, as a political gesture aimed at forcing Bangladesh to take action against Indian separatist groups in the state of Assam who allegedly operate from bases in Bangladesh. January 10: The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) has confirmed that would-be terrorists associated with Indonesia’s al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror group conducted numerous, allegedly paramilitary, training exercises in Western Australia and the Blue Mountains, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Investigations have revealed that a group of Perth Muslims, disciples of JI spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir, became convinced an Islamic super-state would emerge from the political landscape of Southeast Asia. It is now believed the nucleus of JI’s operations in Australia has been based in Perth, rather than Sydney. January 12: Philippines troops have retaken control of two villages occupied by rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), reports the Agence France-Presse. The MILF rebels seized villages near Columbio in Sultan Kudarat province last Friday, but were forced to flee when 700 soldiers infiltrated late Saturday. 18 rebels were reportedly killed in the two days of fighting. The recent violence has foiled peace talks scheduled to be held in Malaysia over the weekend. Since 1978, the 12,000-strong MILF has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in the Philippines’ southern region of Mindanao. January 14: Maoist guerillas have abducted 80 students after storming a high school in Bhalchaur, a rebel stronghold 400-kilometers west of Nepal’s capital of Katmandu, reports CNN. Last week, the Maoists released—in intervals—a group of 150 students abducted earlier in the month. In December, the rebels also kidnapped 45 students in southwestern Nepal, releasing them only two days later. While there is little information on how the abducted students are treated, it is believed the kidnappings serve the indoctrination and intimidation purposes of the Maoists. Since the insurgency began in 1996, more than 4,000 people have been killed. |
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Copyright
© 2003, American Foreign Policy Council.
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