US, India were against disbanding RAB

A leaked cable suggests the US opposed the purported move by some Awami League leaders to disband Rapid Action Battalion.

The cable sent by US ambassador in Dhaka James F Moriarty, which was leaked by WikiLeaks, also says India backed the idea that RAB, which was launched by BNP, should be allowed to operate.

Moriarty's Jan 14, 2009 cable reveals that he had discussed the US stance on the matter with the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh at that time, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty.

The Indian envoy also agreed that the RAB should stay, according to The Guardian newspaper that published the cable on Tuesday.

Referring to Bangladesh's initiative to address crimes, Moriarty said in the cable, "Pinak also agreed when the Ambassador argued the Hasina government should not disband the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)"

He also said in a following note, "The RAB has emerged as the country's premier counterterrorism force but is viewed with suspicion by some Awami League leaders because it was established by the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party"

"The Ambassador stressed that the USG had started human rights training for RAB. He added that the RAB was the enforcement organization best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation," the cable reads, referring to the meeting between the US and Indian representatives in Bangladesh.

A separate cable on Aug 11, 2008 revealed that the US had sent a representatives team to see how the US government can work with the force.

"A USG interagency team from the Departments of State, Defense, and Justice visited Dhaka July 12 - 16 to conduct an assessment of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), focusing on whether and how the USG might engage with the force," the cable by Moriarty said.

"During the visit, the team met with the RAB senior leadership, visited the training academy outside of Dhaka, and visited two of the RAB's operational battalions (in Narayangang and Sirajgang)."

"In addition to the meetings with the RAB, the team met with representatives from civil society, including journalists, human rights groups, and business leaders, in both Dhaka and the field.

"On their final day, the team met with officials from the Ministries of Foreign and Home Affairs. Representatives of the Embassy's inter-agency Counter Terrorism Working Group also participated in the assessment team's meetings," the cable said.

The assessment team's visit came after several months of intensive discussions between the RAB and the US embassy, as well as meetings with senior visiting officials, including diplomat Barks-Ruggles and counter terrorism coordinator Dailey.

"In these previous meetings, USG officials informed the RAB of our desire to help improve its human rights record and build its counter terrorism and law enforcement capacity but underscored the need for greater transparency and accountability.

"The officials explained that our ability to offer training or assistance is currently constrained by the RAB's alleged human rights violations, which have rendered the organization ineligible to receive training and assistance according to the Leahy legislation."

It went on to say that the two-day meetings with the RAB focused on understanding properly, the law enforcement agencies past human rights record. It also focused on the procedures in place to prevent, investigate and adjudicate violations.

The RAB officials in turn informed the ambassador that the allegations of abuses are handled both through internal disciplinary measures as well as through an administrative investigation by magistrates and the local court system.

"In response to repeated requests from the team for greater information about the magistrates' reports, the RAB's senior leadership pledged to explore providing this information to the USG," the leaked cable added.