Editorial
On investigators' access
What is there to hide?
The government's decision to seek international assistance in probing the grisly grenade attack on the former finance minister SAMS Kibria last Thursday at Habiganj is a step in the right direction given the failed investigations pertaining to similar grenade attack cases. But to our mind, simply asking for help is not enough. The reason why we think so is because some teams of foreign investigators came here in the past to probe most notably the multiple grenade attacks on Awami League rally in August last year, bomb attack on British High Commissioner in Sylhet in May last year; but these could not reach any conclusive results on account of accessibility problems. This time, however, it is stated on behalf of the government that not merely forensic assistance is being sought but the decision is also to include members of the reputed foreign intelligence agencies in the investigation teams.What will be important for us to do is to define the mandate and terms of reference for foreign investigation teams, as well as to provide them with access to all the relevant documents, witnesses and traces of evidence. The teams must be allowed to work independently. The US Assistant Secretary Christina Rocca herself stressed the need for it while responding to a government request for FBI assistance. Let's face it our investigative capabilities have been severely tested by the complexity of modern-day terrorist crimes involving mentoring, networking and weapon supply. Apart from neutrality which is the key, a high degree of professional efficiency and forensic skill are needed to get to the bottom of the bombing incidents. We are naturally concerned at the series of bomb attacks which have fallen into a pattern in terms of motivation, types of weapons used, not to forget the huge caches of arms discovered in recent times. The Daily Star has been consistently urging the government to seek expert assistance in order to unravel the mysteries as these may have an international dimension. We believe the government has nothing to hide, and that's precisely why we expect it to accord full access to the investigation teams. Undoubtedly, the stakes are very high for the investigation to be a success. The national interest demands an open, credible and unbiased probe. A country keen on upholding rule of law can only support a free and unfettered investigation.
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