During the aftermaths of the 5 th August, Bangladesh has been through a crossroads at security concerns must be taken account accordingly.
The security situation in Bangladesh is much more complex now than it was before the advent of nuclear weapons in the region and global events like September 11. In fact, I would argue that the events of 9/11 have changed the world situation, which has not spared even a small and fragile country like Bangladesh. Because Bangladesh has a Muslim identity. And there are internal political disagreements on most important national issues.
The conflictual political environment that has been going on for years has now taken the form of conflict politics. And has divided the nation in harmful ways. Due to the practice of power politics, national considerations are either not understood by politicians or are being neglected by them.
An example of this has been proven through the tragic events of August 21. The grenade attack on an opposition rally in the capital Dhaka has truly proven how weak we are as a nation. It was an attack on our national security. But sadly, the issue has been shaped into a narrow political incident. This attack shows how vulnerable we are. Nevertheless, discussion below will be based on current events and the geostrategic environment, which is rapidly changing and has a negative impact on our national security.
Our perceived national security landscape has been further transformed by economic globalization, the rise of extreme religious extremism in society, and the proliferation of large quantities of small arms, especially after the Afghan war. The security environment has been further complicated by the rise of terrorism in national politics, the emergence of a gun culture, ideological divisions in civil society, and the growing armed insurgency in some countries in the region, which, for geographical reasons, involves other neighboring countries.national securityWhat is national security? It is the measure that helps build a nation.
It is taken to protect the inherent values. These cannot be protected unless the country is sovereign and can reflect its free will in protecting the values. These inherent values are protected by zealously protecting the national interest.
In our case, the following core values are enshrined in the Constitution:
1. Full trust and faith in Almighty Allah,
2. Nationalism,
03. Democracy,
04, Economic and social justice for all.
And the fundamental goal of the state is the implementation of these fundamental principles through democratic processes, rule of law, free exercise of human rights, political and economic freedom, quality justice, etc. To achieve the above goals, the country has to be sovereign in determining its destiny according to the wishes and aspirations of the people.
The people sacrificed their lives to achieve these rights.That is why these values must be preserved. We need to identify national interests. Then we have to protect them by using national power. That is why we have to protect independence, solidarity and national sovereignty. We have to protect it from internal destruction. We have to use the use of resources and the free movement of people, that is, the lines of communication.
The point is, these are the things we need to keep safe, and these are all there is to national security. All the other perspectives that are included in this are glorified within these perspectives, which I have mentioned.The responsibility for ensuring national security does not lie with the armed forces, unless the threat is external and territorial integrity is not endangered.
But the formal responsibility for ensuring national security lies with the government, which includes the elected opposition and the entire citizenry.Internal discord and political conflict are the biggest threats to national security for a weak third world country like Bangladesh.
After all these constraints, it is imperative that all forces of good get united against all odds and find a common ground against evil forces.
