Bangladesh: Tears of anger
February 27, 2009 by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Two soldiers, second from left and third from right, the border guard force known as the Bangladesh Rifles, who were held as hostages by mutinous soldiers, after they were released by their captors on Thursday. (Andrew Biraj/Reuters)
Meanwhile, according information, most of the killings and rape took place after Prime Minister announced General Amnesty to the mutineer BD troops on Wednesday afternoon. It is further learnt the delegation of mutineer on their return from the Prime Minister’s residence, told their fellow rebel comrades to ‘clear-up’ the remaining number of held officers as well give ‘good lesson’ to the female members of the officers. The mutineers also buried dead bodies of the army officers as they got more than 30-hours in the name of negotiations with the government.
Experts feel that, if the government would have allowed Bangladesh Army to crash in to the BDR headquarters in hours of the mutiny, a large number of officers could have been already saved as well many females would have been saved from being raped.
Meanwhile, there is a very important scoop of the entire conspiracy of killing the 146 officers of Bangladesh Army. I have been repeatedly saying that, this was not any mere revolt by the troops of BDR. I also raised question as to why Awami League led government decided to send a person like Jahangir Kabir Nanak, who has questioned background. Now, we have a documented confession from none but Nanak himself.
State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak on Friday said the killing of army officers during the BDR mutiny was an act of sabotage. He was speaking to the reporters at the BDR headquarters.
“It did not happen out of blue. It was a conspiracy. They were killed in a well-planned way.”
The state minister said a vested group had long been working on the conspiracy and it distributed millions of taka among the BDR soldiers.
He also vowed that the conspirators must face exemplary punishment.
Parliament whip Mirza Azam [the brother in law of Islamist millitancy group JMB kingpin Shaikh Abdur Rahman] accompanied Nanak.
Let me put here two staright questions. How Mr. Nanak is now sure of the conspiracy and how he known about the funding issue? Does he know this because, he should definitely have known this for obvious reason? Or if there was any intelligence report already with the government in this regard?
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told reporters on Friday that, “the government will find those out who were behind the BDR mutiny.”
She said, “Nobody could have staged the rebellion alone. A certain quarter must be involved behind the incident. Everyone was not involved, but a group was.”
Excellent commitment from the Prime Minister! But, what about if it will be proved that her own partymen were behind this extreme notoriety?
In the meantime, some of the officials of a particular para-millitary intelligence agency in Bangladesh is continuing to say that, Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP] had hands behind the entire mutiny. They are saying, at the suggestion of some of the senior leaders of the party, leader of the opposition and former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia did not stay at her residence inside the Dhaka Cantonment on Wednesday night. They [the intelligence officers] want to justify that, Khaleda Zia refrained from staying at home, because, she was having hand behind this extreme notoriety.
Whoever the conspirator may be, proper investigation will surely make the entire matter..
Meanwhile, relatives, kits and kins of the missing officers are passing time of pain and horror right in front of the BDR headquarters gate in the hope of either receiving their loved ones alive, or at least their deadbodies. Elderly mother of director general of Bangladesh Riffles, Major General Shakil Ahmed Chowdhury, who had been killed during the mutiny was leaving tears and asking everyone, what was the ‘crime’ of her son and daughter-in-law as both of them had been killed by the killers mutineer troops.
Wives, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters of relatives of the missing officers do not know yet, if their loved ones are alive or killed. They even do not know, when they may at least see the deadbodies. They have lost their loved ones. Now, they have no other way of expressing their shocks, except leaving tears of anger.
Thousand of officers and soldiers in Bangladesh Army are deeply shocked at the loss of numerous lives of their loving colleague brothers and officers. These officers and soldiers risk their lives for the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh. Now, they are witnessing the ever worst humiliation, shock and pain.
Who was that notorious mind that had blue-printed the entire episode of terror? What revenge they wanted to take from the armed forces in Bangladesh? Why the renegade BDR troops were pointing to only past two years as the period of ‘repression or deprival’? Is it not true that they were echoing the notion of some others, who were caught during this period for corruption and other charges?
No one knows better the shock of losing near and dear ones than Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself. She lost her parents and family members in a bloody coup in 1975. She has been demanding trial of the killers. This is very natural. A daughter can certainly demand that. It is natural and human. And, the PM should also try to realize and feel the pains and shocks of the near and dear ones of the murdered army officers. There should not be minimum sympathy shown to the perpetrators of this heneious crime. The government cannot afford to show minimum ignorance in realizing the degree of importance of the entire episode. The rare mutiny posed a critical test of Sheikh Hasina’s authority, particularly in the face of such stark criticism of the country’s army.
Last 5 posts by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
- Islamist militancy group Hizbut Towhid in action in Bangladesh – October 4th, 2009
- Bangladesh Militant’s Taliban Connection – March 22nd, 2009
- Murder of Army Officers – Wrong man chosen as IO – March 4th, 2009
- Bangladesh: February Massacre & Operation Rebel Hunt – March 3rd, 2009
- Was it BDR troop mutiny or pre-planned murder? – March 1st, 2009