Bangladesh has banned an Islamist group.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said Monday that the Ansarullah Bangla Team had been banned in response to a request by the police because it has threatened and killed bloggers, writers and activists. Junior Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the decision was warranted under Bangladesh’s antiterrorism law. Since February, three bloggers who criticized radical Islam have been killed, including Avijit Roy,42, an American citizen of Bangladeshi origin.
And as the horse disappears over the horizon, the blot on the barn door slides firmly home.
À propos, a nice commentary on the PEN – Charlie Hebdo “useful idiots”.
http://tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/191181/reflections-on-pen-protesters
And…
http://mickhartley.typepad.com/blog/2015/05/poking-a-hornets-nest-with-a-stick.html
@2 Helene: Ooh! I *love* Tom Holland!!
Interesting slip – blot for bolt. Yes, I think there definitely is a blot on the barn door.
Nobody’s saying how this will be enforced. Do they have an office that’s being closed? A webpage that was shut down? Are members arrested, or would they be if they tried to meet publicly? I certainly don’t mind that a violent extremist group was “banned”, but is it little more than PR?
Most likely, the leadership of this group interpenetrates the government, and in any case anyone moving against it risks being labeled anti-Islam and could lose his job or his life. Their action begins and ends with the announcement.