Bangladesh-Turkey defence ties face scrutiny over Ankara’s links with Islamist extremists: Report

Dhaka/Ankara, June 14 (IANS) Bangladesh’s defence cooperation with Turkey carries a significant risk due to Ankara’s persistent and aggressive backing of extremist Islamist groups, which is unlikely to yield meaningful gains for ordinary people in the South Asian nation and could further strain the millions who slipped into poverty last year.

While Dhaka requires defence cooperation to advance its goal of self-sufficiency, placing excessive reliance on a nation that builds its foundation on “lies and deception” could ultimately leave Bangladesh more “complicated and vulnerable”, a report has said.

“In fear of retribution, several former counter-terrorism officials, on condition of anonymity, have also expressed concern over the growing military and strategic cooperation as they pointed out Turkish patronage for extremist ecosystems in Bangladesh for the last twenty months,” a report in Eurasia Review detailed.

Highlighting a series of Turkish government-backed activities, the report said that Ankara has sought to promote extremist elements aimed at destabilising Bangladesh, encourage Islamists for minority persecution, and embolden militant groups that view liberal voices as adversaries.

It added that these efforts form part of a broader strategy to keep the region destabilised, aligning with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambition to position himself as a leading figure in the Muslim world.

The report noted that when the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his recent meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Khalilur Rahman, in Dhaka described Bangladesh as “extremely important for a stable South Asia”, the assertion appeared plainly ironic.

“During the visit, Hakan Fidan also tried to draw sympathy from Bangladeshis with pledges of support for Rohingya repatriation, which appeared another hoax, as Turkish intelligence is widely believed to have been involved with the extremist outfits that have been recruiting militants in the Rohingya camps, exploiting poverty due to cuts in aid agencies,” it added.

The report highlighted that behind the “much hyped” signing of the MoU for strengthening bilateral cultural cooperation lies another betrayal of culturally involved people of Bangladesh.

According to the agreement, both countries will cooperate in the preservation, protection, restoration, and promotion of cultural heritage. Yet over the last twenty months, the report said, thousands of statues linked to 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War heritage have been vandalised by groups backed by Ankara, with activists describing these acts as “tantamount to cultural genocide”.

Highlighting the wider consequences of Dhaka’s engagement with Ankara, the Eurasia Review report said, “Turkey is like a bear offering a warm woollen embrace, but Bangladesh will do well to realise that this could be really suffocating.”

–IANS

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