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Ismail Haniyeh, Bangladesh riots, Southport unrest

The recent assassinations of key Hamas figures, coupled with the outbreak of riots in both Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, reveal a significant underlying influence from foreign deep-state actors.

The student-led protests in Bangladesh resulted in considerable political turmoil, culminating in the resignation and subsequent flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

These protests, initially sparked by discontent over a contentious quota system for government employment, evolved into a widespread movement demanding her ousting due to allegations of corruption, nepotism, and repression.

The situation escalated into violence, with reports indicating the use of deadly force by police, leading to numerous fatalities.

The resignation of Sheikh Hasina represents a critical juncture in Bangladesh’s political framework, with an interim government now established and a United Nations fact-finding mission set to examine the violence.

The examination should cover individuals or entities responsible for orchestrating the downfall of the former prime minister of Bangladesh, as well as the motivations behind the targeting of minorities, particularly Hindus, by demonstrators.

Given that Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation experiencing significant economic growth, it is pertinent to consider who might wish to impede this progress indefinitely.

UK unrest

In the UK, the town of Southport has seen unrest due to far-right protests and counter-demonstrations following a tragic stabbing that resulted in the deaths of three girls and injuries to others.

Far-right groups have taken advantage of this incident to spread anti-immigration and Islamophobic messages, leading to clashes with counter-protesters and police.

The protests have expanded to cities like London, Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot, with misinformation on social media worsening tensions, especially about the attacker’s identity.

In contrast, there have been large counter-protests across the UK against far-right actions. Thousands of anti-racist activists gathered in cities such as London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast.

Southport, Merseyside, UK

Groups like “Stand Up to Racism” and “United Against Racism” organised these events, calling for nationwide action to challenge the rise of far-right groups.

The counter-protests were mostly peaceful and featured strong participation, with messages like “No to racism” and “Refugees welcome: Stop the far right” visible. In some places, anti-racist protesters greatly outnumbered far-right groups.

This mobilisation is viewed as an important move to fight hate and encourage inclusivity in the UK.

The far-right protesters appeared to be significantly swayed by misinformation that incites unrest, leading to counter-protests.

This situation prompted an inquiry into the underlying factors that foreign deep-state actors may be leveraging to destabilise the societal structure of the UK.

Furthermore, it raised questions regarding the financial backers of these protesters and their vested interests in perpetuating this unrest.

Hamas assassinations

The recent funeral of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, was held in Qatar following his assassination in Tehran, Iran.

This incident was part of a broader pattern of targeted killings of the Palestinian militant organisation’s prominent members, amid the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Both Iran and Hamas have attributed responsibility for Ismail’s death to Israel. Reports indicated he was killed by a missile strike that hit the state guesthouse in Tehran where he was residing.

Ismail Haniyeh

In a related development, Fuad Shukr, the highest-ranking military commander of Hezbollah, was also killed in Beirut, Lebanon, just days prior, further intensifying tensions and raising alarms about a potential escalation of conflict involving Israel, Iran, and their allies.

These deliberate attacks on key figures within Hamas and Hezbollah have heightened fears that the situation in Gaza may be transforming into a more extensive regional conflict, stretching from the Red Sea to the Lebanon-Israel border.

Iranian sources suggest that Ismail’s assassination has instigated concern among Iran’s leadership, who are increasingly apprehensive about the possibility of Israeli infiltration within their security apparatus.

Additionally, there is a growing anxiety regarding Israel’s ability to effectively target and eliminate high-ranking Iranian officials.

The global community has expressed condemnation regarding Israel’s actions against Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah leaders.

However, it is essential to recognise the extent to which Israeli intelligence agencies, such as Mossad, have successfully infiltrated these organisations.

Notably, the execution of Ismail in Iran warrants careful consideration by Malaysia. The infiltration of foreign intelligence agencies into adversarial nations is not an unusual occurrence.

Threat to Malaysian security

Recent years have witnessed the targeted elimination of high-ranking Hamas officials within their supposed safe havens, a trend that should be taken seriously by our intelligence agencies.

My examination of recent developments indicates that the emergence of far-right groups, which are predominantly centred around issues of race and religion, represents a significant threat to our national security.

These organisations may serve as conduits for foreign deep-state actors, potentially undermining the cohesion of our society by instigating chaos within our nation.

Despite Malaysia’s identity as a multi-racial and multi-religious society, we experience considerable fragmentation, largely due to the actions of certain political parties and politicians who exploit racial and religious sentiments for their gain.

This detrimental behaviour has fostered a new generation of Malaysians who harbour distrust towards one another based on these divisions.

The government’s reluctance to acknowledge and address this fragmentation reinforces my concern that we are veering towards a perilous trajectory, one that threatens to obliterate the aspirations envisioned by our founding fathers for this nation.

A society characterised by division is especially susceptible to exploitation by foreign intelligence entities, as demonstrated by recent occurrences in Bangladesh.

In summary, we mustn’t allow foreign deep-state actors to undermine our nation, threaten our sovereignty, or use our territory to advance their interests.

Should any adverse events transpire, we must hold ourselves accountable rather than attributing blame to external forces.

Source: https://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/715994

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