ASSESSMENTS

Are Bangladesh's Competing Parties Ready to Negotiate?

Jul 30, 2015 | 09:00 GMT

Are Bangladesh's Competing Parties Ready to Negotiate?
Bangladeshi protesters shout slogans during a demonstration outside the Bangladesh Nationalist Party office in Dhaka, Feb. 16.

(MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP Photo)

Summary

In an attempt to fight rising Islamist extremism in Bangladesh, Dhaka announced July 28 the arrests of several members of outlawed jihadist outfit Jamaat al Mujahideen. Violence has plagued the South Asian country since contested national elections in January 2014; the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, known as the BNP, leads a coalition of center-right and Islamist parties against the ruling Awami League. But in recent months a rash of Islamist attacks — against government institutions, security forces, secular bloggers and other civilian soft targets — has led the mainstream opposition to try to distance itself from violent extremists. As the BNP's protest strategy loses momentum, leader Begum Khaleda Zia has indicated that parts of the opposition might be willing to drop some of their demands — such as imposing a neutral caretaker government to oversee elections. The Awami League and the opposition will likely enter difficult negotiations in the coming weeks and months, but violence is set to continue, especially as the Awami League grapples with the burgeoning threat of Islamist extremism.

The opposition could be ready to support the ruling Awami League's efforts to contain extremism....

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