If Sheikh Hasina currently allows an election, she will lose. She will hand over the government to BNP for the next five years. She will certainly face many uncomfortable cases and inquiries about the BDR massacre, the Padma Bridge controversy, the atrocities committed by RAB in the days leading to and the aftermath of the 2014 election, the Share Market scam, and so forth. Moreover, given the age of both these individuals, it is highly likely that this would be the last time they would face off. Hasina understandably does not want to end with a defeat.

On the other hand, even if hypothetically an election were to take place tomorrow, and BNP was to win the expected 250+ seats, it would very quickly find itself in a world of hurt. BNP has always been composed of two wings: the governance wing and the AL-lite wing. Ever since 2006, the governance wing has been badly worn down. The Chairperson’s faith in Rafiqul Islam Mian, Jamiruddin Sircar, M K Anwar, et al isn’t what it used to be. And there are too few Shamsher Mobin Chowdhurys and Salahuddin/Sabihuddin Ahmeds to fill the void. This is understandable, because BNP has now been in continuous war footing for the 9^th year running. If we take Ershad’s ascension as the formal start of his dalliance with Awami League, then this is the longest stretch that a party has been in the role of the “Opposition”, faced with the full brunt of state savagery. It’ll take a while to reset from this to governance mode.

So, instead of worrying about the next one election, why don’t we set the time-table for the next two elections? Given the current mess we’re in, it’ll take everyone: BNP and the Twenty-Party Alliance, Gono Forum, Nagorik Oikko, Bam Morcha, and Awami League and the Fourteen-Party Alliance, to return to a state of stability. Why not agree that the parliament formed by the next election, which will probably be heavily dominated by BNP, will only endure for three months? Within these three months, the new parliament will set up a new mechanism for holding future elections, run it by the Appellate Division, and then resign. A second election will then be held under this new mechanism.

Why should Sheikh Hasina agree to this? She should take a lesson from Arafat Rahman’s funeral, and the lakhs (millions?) of people who showed up for it. The deceased had the bad fortune of probably being the non-Jamati Bangladeshi to have received the maximum amount of bad press in his life. While his elder brother had some people defending him now and then, he was a person about whom anyone could say anything without the fear of negative consequences. Ever. And boy, did they indulge themselves. Hasan Ferdous’ piece was in bad taste, extremely bad taste, but it was an accurate symptom of the frustration in the typical Awami mind at seeing an individual whom they had spent so much energy vilifying, getting such a send-off.

Plus, keep in mind that the resignation of Sheikh Hasina will probably herald the one event that will unify Dhaka’s elite completely and abashedly behind her, when our current He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Lord Voldemort/Tarique Rahman, returns to Bangladesh, and everyone suddenly remembers that all of Bangladesh’s ailments: past, present, and future, can be traced back to him. All of a sudden, Sheikh Hasina will start looking quite good by comparison.

So, here’s the crux. If an unsympathetic figure like the younger Mr. Rahman could be so quickly rehabilitated in the Bangladeshi psyche to such an extent, what is to stop Sheikh Hasina, who commands the allegiance of most of Bangladesh’s print and electronic media, to regain her public stature much faster? I mean, it’s true, the quickest way to gain popular sympathy in Bangladesh is to be in the opposition. And with a concerted campaign and some foresight, Hasina could be out of the doghouse much faster.

Let’s be very clear: the current situation is unsustainable. If Hasina survives the full-term, 2019 won’t be 1996 under Chief Justice Habibur Rahman. Hasina’s ministers are already talking about having 200 uncontested seats in the next election. By the time 2019 comes, the number will undoubtedly rise to 300. Our parliament will become a purely decorative one, like the ones present in Arab monarchies.

While it’s a little counterintuitive, it’s Sheikh Hasina, our Prime Minister, who is running out of real options real fast. All that’s left for her to do is arrest Khaleda Zia. She will truly be at the end of her line after that. Instead, going with the double-election plan could see her rehabilitated in the public mind, and maybe even back in state power, much faster than otherwise thought possible.

All discussions of Bangladesh in its domestic English press start with a lament about how its politics has just become a proxy battle between the two netris. And in the next breath, there is usually an off-handed comment about how BNP committed a cardinal mistake by not participating in the 2014 election. As if the only point of elections is to alternate between our two parties and place them in power in turn.

To any right-thinking individual, it has to be extremely insulting to be the citizen of a country where the ruling party engages in more and more elevated forms of kabuki every week to justify their misdeeds of the last week. To be told that the current parliament is a fine one. Or that there is freedom of expression in Bangladesh. Or that democracy can be put on hold for a little bit for the sake of development, the same tired song of tyrants that keeps being discredited, from Putin’s Russia to Mahathir’s Malaysia, but never loses its popularity amongst autocrats and their toadies nevertheless.

So in Bangladesh, is the current situation an intolerable state of quasi-dictatorship that will linger on as a disgrace of our nation-state, or just the latest stage of the battle between AL and BNP? Perhaps it’s mostly the former and a little bit of the latter, but there is a concerted effort being made to convince people that it is only the latter, that this is just business as usual, and there’s nothing worthy for the people of Bangladesh here – they should move on. And if the current government is to be dislodged anytime soon, it is vital for BNP to shatter this myth, and make clear to people the true stakes of what is going on.

There are probably many ways to do so, but one that is very easy to think of. So what’ll be the big deal if Hasina is removed, they say? It’ll be back to Khaleda, and we know how that goes. At least now, we get a well-run personality cult to motivate the weak-minded amongst us. We won’t even get that with BNP.

But what if, what would be available with BNP was a Prime Minister not named Khaleda Zia? What if she announced that her countrymen had bestowed enough honors on her to last her several lifetimes, and she would not take any positions in the next government, but be a simple MP from Feni or Bogra and offer advice and guidance?

It would, in one stroke, shatter this insidious propaganda that what we’re seeing was merely another stage in the never-ending BNP-AL fight and give people something new to be excited about. It would renew BNP’s reputation as the party that had always heralded democratic change in Bangladesh. And it would again remind everyone what a psychopath Hasina really is.

Forget about it, some may ask, who’s ever heard of a Bangladeshi leader giving up power voluntarily? And who would be the PM anyways? But both questions are ultimately moot. If we were ever in the position of having to choose such a person, Khaleda Zia would have successfully ousted the current dictatorship and would be enjoying unparalleled power and prestige. No matter who the PM was, she would still retain a massive moral authority which would ensure that she would have significant say over the direction of the new government. Another plus: the next non-AL government will have to seriously investigate the prosecute amongst other crimes, the 2009 BDR carnage and the abduction and killing spree that RAB indulged on during 2013. Having someone other than Khaleda Zia head the government would certainly dampen the shrill accusations of partisanship that would hound these efforts.

It’s a bold and unconventional idea. But BNP needs a game-changer at this point. And they owe it to the people of Bangladesh to seriously consider any idea that could shorten the present government’s tenure by even one single day.

It’s not the debate that was started by Tarique Rahman about a week or so ago, about who is the first president of Bangladesh.

I firmly believe that history usually proves to be a fair judge. So, in about forty or so years, when all the people whose reputation hinged on painting Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as either an angel or a devil are gone from this earth, our nation and its history will arrive at its own judgment of that man. And that is how it should be.

But much more important than what Sheikh Mujib was in 1972 is what he beam in January 1975. We got out of BKSAL in the worst way imaginable – through a bloody and murderous military coup that only underlines how helpless and fragile the other institutions of the newly-formed state still were. Almost forty years later, we’ll escape Hasina’s proto-BKSAL because while the Gandhi family is quite comfortable disrupting electoral democracy in Bangladesh, it still hasn’t figured out how to do so as successfully in its own country. But we may not be so lucky the next time around.

Thus, the debate, in email inboxes and informal meetings rages on, how to modify Bangladesh’s frame of government that the next wanna-be Hasina is not able to succeed. “In question of power,” Thomas Jefferson thundered, “let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” Our constitutional chains have proven flimsy and brittle so far. How to strengthen them so as to prevent the next dictator from fostering herself upon is as long she likes is the great question of the current time.

Would that make her culpable for the murder of Tauqi?

If not, what on earth to make of the innuendo that Khaleda Zia is somehow implicated in the 10-Truck arms case? Exhibit I against her is supposed to be the fact that Major Gen (ret) Sadiq Hasan Rumi, then head of SSF, came and told her about the recovered arms and she said nothing. The head of the SSF is the Bangladeshi equivalent of the head of the Secret Service, or the head of India’s Special Protection Group. He is not the head of either a law-enforcement or intelligence agency. There is nothing that he would have to do in this instance, and everyone who is quoting this as if it establishes Khaleda Zia’s guilt is well aware of that.

The second supposedly damning evidence against Khaleda Zia is supposed to be the fact that Omar Faruq, the former Home Secretary, gave evidence that supposedly people who were involved in arranging this smuggling were then placed in the committee that was supposed to investigate it. Given how the bureaucracy in Bangladesh works, this is certainly a disappointment, but not a criminal offence. No more than investigating a share market scam while one alleged mastermind of the scam is an advisor to the prime minister, and another one is the chairman of a parliamentary oversight committee.

Regarding the death sentences handed out to others, paraphrasing Sohrab Hasan in Prothom Alo suffices: “Under the applicable statute, I understand that the maximum penalty is the death sentence. However, those who organized a crime and those who did not take preventive measures, despite knowing of it, cannot have the same degree of guilt, though they have been given the same sentences.” (যে আইনে এই মামলা হয়েছে, তার সর্বোচ্চ শাস্তি মৃত্যুদণ্ড, মানি। কিন্তু যাঁরা অপরাধ সংঘটিত করেছেন এবং যাঁরা জেনেও প্রতিকার করেননি, তাঁদের সবার অপরাধ সমান নয়; যদিও একই শাস্তি দেওয়া হয়েছে।) (Prothom Alo, February 8, 2014, The Question Khaleda Zia Must Answer).

Does that mean Khaleda Zia is not guilty at all? She certainly is, of allowing bad policy, if nothing else. Assuming that there were rogue elements within the military or military-intelligence establishment who arranged for and bungled two separate arms trans-shipments to India, let it be understood once and for all: such policies are not realistic for Bangladesh. It would necessitate broad-based and bipartisan support before any such policy was attempted, and to put it mildly, there is no such support.

I understand that this verdict is the result of several different factors: Hasina was desperate to send a concrete signal to the Indians that she appreciated that they had her back. The new Law Minister Anisul Huq, wanted to show that he could strong-arm the judiciary as effectively as the old Shafiq-Kamrul combination. And after Tarique Rahman’s acquittal, the government wouldn’t be taking any more chances. However, even accounting for all these factors, this verdict is a gross miscarriage of justice. I hope the High Court will be able to undo some of the damage very real damage done here.

But Gonobhaban, I think, is just the right size to be a mental asylum. And the current occupant of Gonobhaban is now spreading her own brand of insanity to the rest of Bangladesh.

Exhibit A in this on spread of dementia is, of course, the insistence by those defending this government as one necessary to “protect the continuity of the Constitution.” An election in which 154 seats are not contested may be good for several things, but they do not uphold the Constitution. The Constitution of Bangladesh calls for free and fair elections in which voters are presented a genuine choice. What took place on 5th January is the antithesis of such an arrangement.

Sheikh Hasina now has crossed a line that many people had hoped, perhaps naively, that she would not cross. She has shed off the role of a democratic prime minister and instead opted to become a dictator. This change, for the head of Bangladesh’s oldest political party, and for a leader who asserts herself as an icon of democracy every chance she gets, will be difficult to process for many Bangladeshis. It will produce mental dissonance and a lot of hand-wringing. But the bottom-line, unfortunately, is unmistakable – Bangladesh is no longer a democracy. Which unfortunately leaves Bangladesh, if I am not mistaken, with the only current female dictator in the world today.

I am firmly against military interventions. I fervently hope that Bangladesh does not lose any trade access because of a single person’s ambitions. I don’t want to read about Bangladesh in foreign publications as a country that is headed towards civil war. Finally, I believe that this mess has been created by Bangladeshis, and must be solved by Bangladeshis.

Much has been written about BNP’s lackings as a political party. But the sad truth is that Awami League is not in much better shape. At the recently-concluded rally in Suhrawardy Udyan, the two largest groups present were supporters of Haji Selim and Shamim Osman. And good luck to Sheikh Hasina if she thinks that she can run a government, much less a country, for five years on the backs of those two. Awami League, as an organizational party, is semi-decayed. Except for the cooperation of the police, RAB, and other security forces, it has no capability of its own.

I think a truth that is always under-appreciated is how willing Sheikh Hasina is to cross boundaries; she has a knack for doing the very thing that her sincere well-wishers ask her not to try. After coming to office with overwhelming and absolute support in 2009, she couldn’t resist the temptation to take down Dr. Yunus, perhaps the only thing that could have made her international supporters turn away from her. Similarly, in the just-concluded election, Bangladesh’s thought-leaders and a large part of the international community were ready to accept the election if the percentage of votes cast was anything above the 25% mark. Instead, she oversaw an election with 154 uncontested seats, which was too much for anyone to swallow. The current composition of her ruling coalition is simply not built to last five years. Hasina would have been better advised to give JSD and Worker’s Party 20 seats each – instead of depending on Jatiyo Party to be the rump opposition.

To those asking for fresh dialogue or chiding BNP for not joining this election (I am looking at you, David Bergman), it should be apparent by now that there was never a possibility for Hasina to voluntarily hand over power to BNP, or anyone else, for that matter. Going forward, this is a truth that bears repeating: Sheikh Hasina will not voluntarily hand over power to anyone else, not even a fellow Awami League leader such as President Abdul Hamid or Prime Minister Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, let alone some technocratic figurehead.

In her side, Hasina has the bogey of Jamaat – although it is becoming clearer and clearer that to those asking for Jamaat to be banned, the logical next step is asking BNP to also be banned. By the beginning of June, Hasina will likely lose whatever international cover she now possesses as a new government looks set to take power in India. She is now in the position where she cannot afford to let BNP arrange even a single meeting in Dhaka – because she is, and from now, always will be, just one tactical defeat away from a complete collapse.

Furthermore, waiting in the wings is the dark horse of Bangladeshi politics. As his opening act, Mahmudur Rahman published a damning corruption report about Sajeeb Wazed, Hasina’s unimaginative and disappointing son and heir, which earned him a direct one-year sentence from Bangladesh’s Supreme Court. Last year, he took on and dismantled the Gonojagaran Manch, proving more than equal to the greatest assemblage of cultural and soft power in Bangladesh’s post-independent history. If and when he gets out this time, he will be salivating to take on this government at its weakened state.  History often rewards, not the most deserving, nor the most diligent, but the most daring, especially in the right time and place.

41 years after it first happened, Bangladesh is again faced with a dictator with the trappings of, but little interest in, democracy. The massacres of August to November 1975s were mistakes, for which the country paid a high price. The challenge this time will be to solve this puzzle without bloodshed. Those interested in the furthering of Bangladeshi democracy should seize this opportunity as a teachable moment. Democracy is not a fancy parliament building or some words on a page – it is a concept that is enshrined in hearts of a republic’s citizens. How much the citizens of Bangladesh are willing to sacrifice for democracy will, in the final count, be the only determinant of how soon it returns to the country.

*”South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.” James L. Petigru, 1860.

What does Mr. Saleh want? He wants us to stop blaming Awami League for the recent violence. He wants us to label the current ongoing political agitation by the opposition, including presumably the 29^th’s road march to Dhaka, as “terror.” And he advances the notion that while Awami League is responsible for its failure in “stating clear and convincing terms for an interim government ,“ everything else going on in Bangladesh today, including the grisly violence and murder we are seeing every day, is BNP’s fault- directly or indirectly.

 Mr. Saleh’s piece is labeled “Politics is about choosing sides.” But democracy, as far as we know, is about the freedom to choose sides, but maybe as importantly, the freedom not to choose any sides. The freedom to be left alone. In fact, the majority of the people in our country have not chosen sides. Their votes alternate between the two parties, election after election, with the result that neither of the two parties has ever managed to get a majority of the votes cast, since 1991.

However, we have a funny kind of democracy currently in Bangladesh. One where you are not free to contest an election or withdraw your candidacy if you want. Where you are not free to resign from the cabinet, nor from the Parliament, if you want. And, depending on who you are, you may not even get to choose whether you need to be admitted into a hospital or not.

“Politics is about choosing sides.” Which is ironic, because that’s exactly what Awami League refuses to let the people of Bangladesh do. For if you think about it, what is a general election except for a gigantic exercise of choosing sides?  You stand in the voter booth, and you choose a side. Or if you don’t show up to vote, you are also choosing a side. But one way or another, a choice is made.

Except for the upcoming elections, of course. An election in which people in 154 constituencies, out of 300, will not have to choose sides. Their representatives have already been elected. So perhaps, there is a postscript to Mr. Saleh’s formulation: “Politics is about choosing sides… as long as you choose mine.” Or perhaps, in Orwellian terms, “All sides good, my side better.”

Mr. Saleh’s further thinks that anyone who has not chosen a side in the current conflict is somehow a razakar. Of course, if you choose the wrong side, as Sajeeb Wazed Joy explained so kindly to us when talking about the EU’s decision not to send election observers, you are also a razakar. You see how much fun this could be? Perhaps the US, which also isn’t sending election obervers, is full of razakars. But Mr. Wazed lives in the US. Is he a razakar? But how can that be? It…does…not…compute (loud beep).

But perhaps, Mr. Saleh is confused about what the word means. He says, “Razakars in 1971 were not necessarily malevolent people. They were scared to take sides, they wanted the safety of not having to choose.” Which is funny, because I thought razakars were the people who in fact did choose sides – the wrong side. I thought they were the people who systematically unleashed a campaign of murder, loot, and rape against their fellow countrymen. That instead of being afraid to choose, they chose, to paraphrase Indiana Jones, poorly.

Mr. Saleh’s call to choose has already become irrelevant in today’s Bangladesh. The choice is no longer between AL and BNP.  “”We want to tell the prime minister and the AL that it is no longer a matter between the ruling party and the opposition. It is between the voters and the un-elected parliament that is being forced upon us. Election belongs to the people and we feel that it has been taken away from us. And again, we as voters cannot and will not accept this.” (Source: The Daily Star, The Third View,  PM’s Gift: A Voterless Election, Mahfuz Anam, December 20, 2013) Hold on, was that also from a razakar? Can someone please check and let me know?

Mr. Saleh wants people to choose a side. If I were him, I would worry less about people choosing a side and more about people judging his side.  His side can keep postponing the judgment, but, sooner or later, it’s coming.

What are we thinking?

Feb 25, 2009
Posted by- rumi
Tag – Army

Are we out of our minds?

Lets first see what happened today in BDR HQ in Pilkhana area of Dhaka.

The soldiers of an armed paramilitary border security force staged a public mutiny. As a part of the mutiny, it is near confirmed that they have killed senior leadership and their family members of this force. TV footages have shows footage of uniformed bodies lying on the ground within the HQ campus. They did not stop there. These rampant gun-trotting soldiers attacked civilians around the HQ. Poor people like rickshaw-wallahs, peddlers, pedestrians were killed. TV reporting has shown bodies lying near Dhanmondi lake and bleeding to death. There was no one to save that life. Another footage showed a father was running aimlessly helplessly holding his school dressed daughter on his chest. Undressed bodies are being recovered from sewage draining out of the BDR HQ area.

The government has shown utmost restraint so far. None other than the PM has declared a general amnesty. Political delegation has visited the revolting soldiers. Even PM and other senior leaders of the government met 16 members of the revolting forces.

In TV channels, all day we have heard how corrupt was the reportedly slain officers of BDR. Jawans staging the mutiny got unprecedented media access and a total one-sided propaganda dominated the media as well as the blogs all day. We’ve head all day how bad was BDR DG. We never bothered to dig his side of the story. And we’ve never bothered to ask even if all the corruption charges were true, is there any justification of the mindless killing that took place today?

Electronic media was one step ahead. They have transmitted all the real time info of all army movement to the BDR folks.

We have heard how deprived the BDR folks were. We were told again and again how army gets five times more benefits that of BDR. We were not told how BDR jawans get 100 fold more benefit that police forces. And how police forces gets thousands time more benefit compared to a vegetable vendor or a rickshaw puller.

The morning of August 16 1975 is still very vivid in my mind. The talk of the town that day was similar to all the talks we heard today. Stories of unbelievable massive scale corruption, arrogance of all those killed were all over the town.

We got to remember and remind ourselves that taking up arms and start indiscriminate killing just out of speculation is never a right thing to do.

Our government must take a decisive stand against this mutiny. This mutiny must be trampled first. If an investigating team identifies any injustice, necessary steps must be taken in the future. But negotiations must not be only option in dealing with such a situation. Once the revolting soldiers disobeyed and rejected the amnesty offer of the supreme commander, the immediate next step would be containment.

If government submits to BDR demands today, the police will revolt and kill tomorrow. Then army will also revolt with their demands. Not to mention other professionals like rickshaw pullers, street vendors etc.

I am hearing all the latest developments in negotiations. News tickers are showing that after a meeting with home minister and reps of the mutineers, the rebel soldiers have agreed to lay off their arms. If this turns to be true, this will be great news. I am however very skeptic about this. I fear this will end in total collapse of rebel chain of command.

While government need to be decisive in not tolerating such mutiny, utmost caution must be taken to minimize loss of lives. Sometimes simple waiting and patience game can do the job.

*****************************************************

And BTW, Bangladesh armed forces have done a super job so far. A reminder to all of us, this is the kind of job military is for. They have mobilized and got ready to storm the BDR HQ in a very quick time. Despite all the anger and provocation from inside, they have kept their fingers away from the triggers most of the time. And even they have been quite tolerant to the menacing natured electronic media people of Bangladesh and curious onlookers. 46th independent infantry brigade has done the job it is intended to do.

___________________________________________________________

The following are the comments made by bloggers and readers —

BDR, Mutiny
35 Comments

Globetrotter • Feb 26, 2009 @1:33 am
I agree. There can be no pardon for cold blooded murder. The story about the DG of BDR shooting and killing a Jawan is nonsense, and even if all the allegations of corruption are true, it doesnt justify a mutiny of this scale. The rule of law must be upheld at all cost.

Fariha • Feb 26, 2009 @1:34 am
kintu rumi bhai, amnesty na dile plan-B ta ki hoto?

Globetrotter • Feb 26, 2009 @1:38 am
fariha, the amnesty should cover those jawans who got caught up in the events, and took up arms later. But those who first broke the command structure and slaughtered their officers must be tried and punished.

Fariha • Feb 26, 2009 @1:41 am
hmm..but in the face of the growing unrest in the city, what else could the PM have done but grant them all general amnesty? A full investigation to find out who broke the command chain first would’ve been impossible in the afternoon, no?

Arif • Feb 26, 2009 @1:46 am
Faria,

Plan B jodi kono akta follow hoito, tailay plan A niyee akta lekha akhon lekha hoito.

Globetrotter • Feb 26, 2009 @1:47 am
…and what signal would that send, fariha? If you don’t like your superiors, kill them. Create enough “unrest” and lo and behold! You will be granted amnesty!

Shabab • Feb 26, 2009 @1:50 am
Fariha,

In this extraordinary situation, I think its fair for the government to withdraw its amnesty. I agree with you that there was little to no options for the government in the evolving crisis. It did the right thing to go ahead and negotiate, offering amnesty as the bate. However, there is a serious concern of the precedent this amnesty sets – for the sake of the nation’s integrity, the government will have to deal with this strong handedly, even if that mean going back on their promise.

Fariha • Feb 26, 2009 @1:51 am
but that is exactly what happened.

what do you think the PM should’ve done to tackle the situation?

Globetrotter • Feb 26, 2009 @1:57 am
I think I am repeating myself, but the general amnesty should not cover the ring leaders of the mutiny. Let us uphold the rule of law, otherwise this will happen again and again.

Fariha • Feb 26, 2009 @2:01 am
And you think just granting general amnesty to only the seemingly innocent jawans (who in all likelihood could’ve fired at the civilians and media) as opposed to all of BDR with the mutiny planner would’ve helped resolve the crisis?

The BDR reps who went to Jamuna would’ve happily gone to gallows knowing that their voice was at least heard and their lower ranking jawans would get amnesty?

Either you’re naive or i’m just disillusioned!

Badmarsh • Feb 26, 2009 @2:03 am
Preventing future mutinies should be done through institutional reform. The sub-game perfect outcome (in game theory jargon) of crushing this one violently to prevent future mutinies does not apply here. Institutional reforms in the police & BDR have been long overdue.

mamoon haroon • Feb 26, 2009 @2:09 am
How can Sheikh Hasina “pardon” killers within the BDR while she pursues the killers of her own father and family. Shoudn’t justice be awarded to all, without prejudice!

Bluish red • Feb 26, 2009 @2:29 am
Uff horrible…if i work with a group…and if someone from other part comes and shoots at any of my friend/collegue…i’ll definately shoot them back.,thats a reflex…
Bdr’s dint start it..1stly some of bdr shoulders were killed by DG and highier officials…that is what triggered them up…and i think u guys know it well…after watching whole days news..

Bluish red • Feb 26, 2009 @2:32 am
Someone has compared bdr jawan with veg vendors or rickshaw pullers…well bdr and army’s r said to get the same benefits …ensured by their ranks,,….comparing them with veg vendors or civillians is very low level joke i guess

Globetrotter • Feb 26, 2009 @2:34 am
Fariha, I am not naive, I just believe in the rule of law. And I am against appeasement. I think youre taking a myopic view. Other countries have had mutinies. The lesson to be learnt is appeasement brings more pain, not less. Usually this is done by initially diffusing the situation, and then investigating and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Globetrotter • Feb 26, 2009 @2:36 am
Let’s use common sense here, shall we? The DG and about 40 of his fellow officers are surrounded by 10000 BDR jawans. But the DG shoots and kills a BDR jawan anyway. Makes sense, doesnt it?

Bluish red • Feb 26, 2009 @3:20 am
Huh…the dg shooted at one shoulder inside the darbar hall…ya use common sense,,how can 10000bdr be inside the darbar hall in a meeting,surounding the dg?? Does it make sense…we all heard it through news channels,only a limited no of jawans had the chance to be in the meeting which were held early in the morningwhere the 1st incident took place…
So i think u guys shuold use commomsense,as well as hear the full news before u make any silly comment here.,

Muhit Rahman • Feb 26, 2009 @5:14 am
It is nice to see and read so much interest in developments in Bangladesh. Most of the comments have some merit and some of the comments have considerable merit. However, if one were to make just one conclusion from all the reports – that would be that it is clear that a definitive account of events is yet to be established. Given that, I’d encourage everyone to be a bit more patient and a bit less judgmental. As facts are determined – and surely [I hope] there will be some serious investigations – the right course of action will become more apparent.

Meanwhile, I will commend the restraint shown by the Bangladeshi government and all other powers, whoever they might be, in their response. I only wish that curfew had been slapped on immediately in the affected neighborhoods (with exceptions to allow people to go home or pick up children, etc., and for reporters and emergency personnel) in order to limit the onlookers who, in famous Bengali tradition, seem to have come out in thousands!

There will be a time for finger pointing and for justice. The first and foremost job at the moment should be to bring the situation under control. I am happy to see that that seems to be the way we are going. Meanwhile, once again, I would suggest that we (the commentators) hold our fire as well.

Regards.

mamun haroon • Feb 26, 2009 @9:05 am
I am curious whether the Prime Minister of our country has the constitutional power to pardon murderers, which she promised to the mutineer.

Doesn’t the ability to arbitarily pardon murderers tentamount to or even exceed dictotorial power??

Does her pardon mean that the families of those who have died during the mutiny will not be able to file charges againts suspects involved in the murders which took place inside the BDR compound?

Asif Syed • Feb 26, 2009 @9:56 am
Why do we hate BD Army so much ?

Arif • Feb 26, 2009 @10:00 am
What is the just thing to do?
– Announce amnesty and solve the crisis for now.
– No amnesty, use force, kill more (including civilians).
– Promise amnesty, make them surrender, break the promise, and lose all trust from the border security force.

I am not sure what is the just thing to do.

Robot • Feb 26, 2009 @10:14 am
Arif, what abot amnesty for the movement but not for killing?

I think Blogger Rumi made a good point on the August 75 issue. Was the young chidren of sheikh family made any crime?

The army budget/army adminstration need to be more transparent.

Arif • Feb 26, 2009 @10:23 am
How you know who killed whom? Did you see Munni Saha’s report? Did you find any command? But lets wait few more hours to figure out actual loses.

Arif • Feb 26, 2009 @10:24 am
ps. 75 has nothing to do with this incident. This analogy is very annoying.

Rakib • Feb 26, 2009 @10:27 am
I am sad to write this. Unconfirmed report indicates much more ghenious disaster. Brutal killing took place. Women, children are taken hostage and here we are doing what! Bashing army! We talk about due process and here we are castigating one side without knowing what is taking place! I hear 100s dfead and here we are pardoning the killers!

From TV, a pregnant lady locked in quarter gurad, woman with children hgiding in bathroom, corpses hidden, thrown in sewerage line, only to float in kamrangir char! I just heard one officer dead, who I know to be honest personally and here we are raping the deads, castigating them without due process without even knowing what they did!

Did the officers commit such crime to deserve such indignity! Such brutal killing! Raped in dead!

Blogger, its time to think. This mutiny will have far reaching consequences if not addressed properly. Tomorrow, Ansar will revolt. Day after Police. Next Army.

Its time, we condemn the killers.

Thank you RUMI……………For being the sane voice in the middle of nowhere.

THANK YOU.

SC • Feb 26, 2009 @10:57 am
Just finished talking to my family in Dhaka. Two of my relatives (both army officers) and their young son are among the hostages. No whereabouts of them till now. Heard Matia Chowdhury is going in again to continue the discussion. Talking to a crying teenager whose mom, dad and brother are still missing in the melee is not easy. Army did not setup any information cell for the families.

I made my opinion known in http://unheardvoice.net/blog/2009/02/25/bdr-mutiny when the events were unfolding. I heard some other voices here and in the TV expressing similar thoughts addressing “amnesty”, “intelligence failure”, “corruption rumor”.

I will start with the quotation from a passionate blogger, “They’ve already killed their officers, so they know that they will have to face the music from the army.” Note that, not “music of the law” not “music of the land”, I guess it was not poor choice of words; it just reflects our national psyche and might be one of the root cause of the somber happenings. “Army as institute, as individual is superior to the rest of us and they can do anything they want” – has destroyed the essential characteristics of a patriotic army. This fact along with the failure to maintain chain of command from the officers, the lack of loyalty among the jawans, killing of a general in front of his officers (I hear the number was around 100 in the Darbar Hall) is disgracing to any professional army. The managers should go back to the drawing board and look deeply in their training program rather than lecturing on democracy.

Another one, “However, there is a serious concern of the precedent this amnesty sets – for the sake of the nation’s integrity, the government will have to deal with this strong handedly, even if that mean going back on their promise”. I was among the first who questioned the amnesty and asked for clear answer from the PM, but, I think it is a heinous suggestion. PM is not a police officer who can make false promises in order to draw a confession.

Another blogger used smiley faces and other jolly expressions in the same link. It is purely distasteful when we are facing a grave situation.

Not everything is dark and gloom. A civil government handled the situation with dignity and without huge loss of life. We have seen courageous young leadership Gini, Taposh, Nanak, Azam. Even at the height of the tension, parliament continued the regular business. The civil government was able to rein in the military. Someone, please, confirm that army was deployed at the direction of PM, not by some general to save their comrades – that will make my day.

Though the slain officers, jawans did not receive the dignity they deserve, we as a country should not treat the rebels the same way. Let them face the army court or civil court as appropriate and NO retaliation against the families.

Ahbab Aziz • Feb 26, 2009 @11:50 am
Many, if not most, of the people of Bangladesh have been surprised by the turn of events surrounding the BDR mutiny. However, is there any reason to be so surprised? I don’t think so, as this sort of event is not totally unexpected when lack of accountability is rampant in the armed forces, as in other sectors of the country. To stop this kind of marauding things from recurring, accountability must be established in the defense services, which cannot be done keeping them beyond the purview of civilian / elected authority. The elected govt. must take the lead in ensuring accountability in the armed forces if healthy chain of command is to sustain.

Fariha • Feb 26, 2009 @11:57 am
Ahbab Aziz, you’re right..

With due respect to the dead, I don’t think anyone was surprised by the stories of rampant army abuse and corruption.

As far as the chain of command of BDR being broken, that is a shame. But we have to remember here that this is, as some have correctly pointed out, a failure of their commanding officers who turned out to be members of the army. Bullying is not the best leadership style.

Abul • Feb 26, 2009 @12:11 pm
The Mutiny and the Untold Stories

The recent mutiny of the BDR is the result of extreme polarisation that have developed within BDR forces along the dividing line of Army vs Non-Army. And this polarisation has come into fruition involving this DAL-BHAT KORMOSHUCHI. This DAL-BHAT has been enough to spark the whole tragic event. In analyzing the even, one must reflect on it. Blame game will not lead anyone to anywhere else.

Indeed, it has been very naive on the part of our army personnel to get involved in profit making activities. For that, they have now paid a heavy price. Their image has been tarnished to a large extent. It is not good for the country. It will only contribute to the loss of people’s trust on them in the long run.

However, one must acknowledge that this state does not appear to have any mind or vision. The short-sighted policy makers never realise that the security forces can never be monetised which can only breed greed. This is not the proper economic force to generate money by doing ’social business’. Indeed such kind of activity always weakens their morale. As a result, in many cases, the border line between an army officer and a businessman gets blurred, creating further ‘anti-army’ sentiment among mass people even.

It is also true that it seems sky is the only limit for the army officers. They get plots at DOHS, almost free of cost and many other facilities which no one can get even by doing a very decent job in Bangladesh. Taking the advantage of their structural closeness with the government, the Army officers always make fortunes not only for themselves, but also for their families. Indeed, they have already established medical college, engineering college, university and what not with the money of the tax payers. Still their children and relatives get preference for admission. Their children/relatives pay less amount of money than general students for studying in those institutions. Just imagine how this structural position of advantage is being institutionalized by the Army officers for their next generations also in a country which already has huge gap between poor and rich.

Bangladesh army is also doing business in many other sectors. Even for purchasing armaments, some retired army officers do commission business. Their ‘military-business empire’ have also extended more rapidly particularly in the last two years. Even the Cantonment area now includes Bijoy Shoroni with a new connecting road for Mirpur and Old Airport cantonments. Still some people are more concerned about the subsidy of the state for the public universities. None raises eyebrows with regard to the business ventures of Bangladesh Army with tax payers’ hard earned money or to the issues of transparency and accountability in financial matters. It reminds me of the book written by a Pakistani Author Ayesha Siddika titled PAKISTAN MILITARY INC. Under the circumstances, Army officers should also realise what actually has gone wrong on their part taking the condition of present Pakistan into account.

In fact, it is the ultimate outcome of the whole society becoming a MONEY SLAVE. Defence officer seeks to have a comfortable life like a businessman and businessmen want to have state-power along with their money power. It is also true for other professionals. None is satisfied in this age of ECONOMIC GLOBALISATION. Thus it is more like that this kind of events will take place in the coming days also.

On the other hand, the whole event has also put the utility and credibility of the DGFI into question. If they are very good in arresting students and teachers and punishing them for collecting statements, why they were not being able to sense this incident! Indeed all the intelligence agencies failed in the past to prevent some zealots from hurling grenades on the political leaders and exploding bombs countrywide.

However, it is really shocking for all citizens of Bangladesh to witness such tragic event. Not a single citizen likes to see such event in the country. As citizens of Bangladesh we must condemn the incident.

Asif Syed • Feb 26, 2009 @8:06 pm
Is it really that hard to condemn the killing of a human being ? Do we always have to find some reason behind the killing ? Do we need numbers to make this situation more dramatic ? Isn’t every single life precious whether that person is an Army, BDR or civilian ? There is no doubt that the demands of the BDR revolters legitimate, but was this the way to go ahead ? Do you think this wound will just heal in few days ? Can anyone here please answer ?

Abul • Feb 26, 2009 @9:44 pm
“An eye for eye an makes the whole world blind”.

Rudro • Feb 26, 2009 @11:48 pm
It is so disheartening to watch this killing and chaos. Our society could not get over with the culture of ‘taking law in own hand’ and ‘extreme mrasures’. If this kind of mutiny still happens, we do not have the assurance that another coup would not happen and disrupt the present positive politacal development in the country.

But I see some encouragement in fact that army showed tremendous restraint so far letting PM, Home Minister and MPs tackle the situation. I think the political leadership has also shown maturity.

Finally one suggestion: Can we start a discussion and campaign for REMOVAL AND RELOCATION OF MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY ESTABLISHMENT FROM THE HEART OF THE CAPITAL DHAKA. It will diminish the influence of the entrenched power structure for the better future of Bangladesh.

Saleh Tanveer • Feb 27, 2009 @3:47 am
This mutiny brings to the fore deep problems within BD society and culture at the present time:

No grievance, no matter how legitimate, gets attention of authorities unless aggrieved people resort to violence and destruction. On the other hand, no matter how unfair demands may be, aggrieved parties feel that violence will get them what they want.
We have degenerated into a culture where burning of random cars following an accident, random killings and destruction of property to advance a political cause, mutiny in the armed forces are all considered legitimate tools by the aggrieved. There is no societal outrage unless it touches our near and dear ones.

Beyond punishing some of the involved Jawans of BDR, which many in the privileged class will call for, our politicians are incapable of arresting this destructive trend since they themselves have contributed to this culture in the name of “brihottoro shartho”.

indianguy • Feb 27, 2009 @1:31 pm
I feel bad for he senseless loss of life. A few important things come to mind. Sheikh Hasina just won a landslide victory, after 2 years of military rule. This is one incident that would at the very least strain her relations with the army.
The army I am sure realises that the mutineers have shaken the very core of the army command structure, and would have pushed to use force. Sheikh Hasina keen to avoid bloodshed would do anything to avoid use of force.
But the general amnesty, granted to those who were supposed to protect Bangladesh but instead turned their guns on their fellow citizens is a terrible idea.
All their gripes do not take away from the fact that they have killed Bangladeshi’s. I am not sure why I don’t sense aany public outrage.

Reza • Mar 1, 2009 @1:24 am
Mr. Saleh Tanveer,

Your comments came across as insensitive and cruel.

Are you sure that only representatives of the “privileged class” will seek punishment for the BDR criminals? Is there no room for punishment proportionate to the criminal act in your book.

I am confident that the vast majority of Bangladesh will seek justice for the prematurely killed soldiers of our army. And as for societal injustices, mass rebellions have never been the solution. By killing innocent officers, the BDR soldiers have made it exponentially difficult for future generations of their rank to seek any benefits.

1 Trackback

Feb 26, 2009: Unheard Voice » BREAKING: BDR Mutiny
Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Allowed tags:

Today lets discuss the prequel or to be frank – impossibility of this government planned prequel to the resistance scenario where the opposition gets decimated. It is clear the state is waiting for advances from the opposition – they want the opposition to start it first. They want opposition to call some hartal – annoy people – anger the chattering class belonging to the civil society – then come down hard on the opposition – the way the state came down hard and gagged the post Ilias ali abduction protests. If the top leadership goes behind the bar, Khaleda Zia remains virtually in house arrest incommunicado and the rest of mid level leadership remain on the run – the ground organization of BNP will come to a standstill — this is the assumption of the planners of Hasina war room. May be in the last moment – just after the election schedule is announced – to show some fake sincerity to hold an inclusive election – Khaleda Zia, along with some other senior leaders, will be released. But the mid-level organizers will be kept at a bay to ensure a BNP boycott of the election. Any possible hartal agitation movement will be dealt with harshest state repression. And once an election is somehow conducted with domesticated opposition and some fake break away BNP participating and  as soon as the 3rd Hasina Government  takes oath – full brunt of the state repression will be unleashed upon whatever is remaining of BNP. Khaleda Zia along with her top lieutenants will face harsh or long term sentences. Per PM Hasina’s game plan – vision 2021 will be halfway on its goal.

However the above mentioned scenario still remains within the confines of wishful thinking and planning. History tells us again and again – whatever precision planning one may do, whatever full proof the plans may be – eventually, surprise and unplanned factors dictate the flows, the turns and the curves of the history. Another factor that also cannot be ignored by any avid observer of history – is that whatever powerful one may be – without ground based following and a sizable portion of the population backing the regime – no one can stay afloat with absolute power too long. Nature – sometimes presenting as collective public opinion, sometimes presenting as suppressed public demands – finds its way to correct major anomalies against the nature- again an overwhelming public opinion.

The state, led by Hasina and her cronies e.g. political advisers, army, RAB and police chiefs, GOCs of strategic military divisions, DMP and other commissioners, bureaucrats – may design the perfect plan of a brutal bloody suppression of the opposition. They may find the confidence and comfort about their success in their successful dress rehearsals of suppressing the opposition movement after Ilias Ali abduction or Hezazate Islam sit in.

The problem is that what the planners of Mrs. Hasina fail to see is that the state power has a shelf life. It decays with time. The vigor this state had shown during Ilias Ali agitation or even during hefazate Islami sit in, is no longer there with the state machinery. In the elected autocratic democracies like Bangladesh – the state power and the opposition strength is mutually complimentary. The stronger the state is, the weaker is the opposition. The weaker the state gets – the more invigorated the opposition gets. Even if the high command orders a brutal crackdown of the opposition, it will be unlikely that all ground level enforcers of the state will comply to high command orders with full complicity. Every single police officer, every single district level administrator will think twice before executing any drastic suppression. Because like the rest of the nation they will also be skeptical about PM Hasina Government’s plans to hang on to a second term by force. They will be very careful in trying not alienating the future ruling party. The state may have foreseen and preempted this problem by heavily recruiting hardcore ruling party zealots from a certain part of the country- but these zealots will be too little too weak to negate the skepticism and inaction of self-serving skeptic members of the  administration.

At the same time the opposition force Hasina’s state machinery will face on the streets will be much stronger than before.  Possibility of an upcoming election will drive constituency based resistance to state suppression. Potential candidates of each constituency as well as their ward level followers will try their best to show their support and organizational capacity in launching a resistance. The incentives were not as high two years ago, the hope of an end to the oppression and hopes of paybacks were not as near.

Then comes the other surprise factors. The strongest Prime Minister in history of Bangladesh could not contain a young newbie grassroots leader of her party during Gazipur city corporation elections.  Even when our PM’s clout and stature was at the peak we saw Ivy-Shamim Osman, Afsar Uddin- Simin Hossain Rimi type organizational chaos. At the end of her tenure, how she would expect to contain all the deprived leaders of the party? Esp. how she would dissuade the local leaders  who know it very well that if they again remain within the list of the deprived, if they have to pave the way for the other leader to become the MP or Upazilla Chairman, their political career is practically over.

This factor will weigh heavily in suppressing the opposition. May be the opposition BNP activists will see unexpected allies among the ruling party deprived factions.

Then other shocking surprises like 1/11, August 15 is always there in the horizon.

The facts above suggest it very clearly that if the government has any plan to oppress the opposition and hold a one party election, although it will not be impossible, it will not be walking on a cake. If we go back to the Terminator movie analogy – precision planning by the strongest super computer Skynet system and all the full proof pre-emptive acts to protect the planned future failed to human resilience and surprises.  Prime Minister Hasina, with all organs of the state behind her with solid subservience, may have found herself invincible during last four and half years. But her invincibility will be seriously tested by a skeptic administration, a chaotic feuding organization she leads and a n invigorated opposition.

[ In the third and final installment of the analysis, we’ll discuss the best exit plan of PM Hasina and about the 3rd Hasina Government if PM Hasina somehow succeeds in hanging on to power]

Professor Muhammad Yunus is a man with formidable international name recognition, domestic popularity and civil society –donor acceptance. So he definitely is a rival to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at least in terms of clout and recognition. Is this the reason behind Mrs. Hasina and her Government’s self-immolating attempts to harass and undermine Professor Yunus? Is jealousy is the only factor behind the fact the whole state craft of Bangladesh spend months after months, whole cabinet spends two hours in special meeting and octogenarian Finance Minister makes it his magnum opus to somehow device a way for the state to remove Mr. Yunus from his high held position?  It is true that when the state wants to remove a little potato like Ram Rahim Jodu Modhu – they simply can put them behind the bars for indefinite period, disappear them forcefully, kill them in RAB cross fire. The higher clout figure they go after – the more difficult it gets. Vanishing Chowdhury Alam, a unit organizer of central Dhaka BNP was much easier for the state than removing Ilias Ali, a nationally recognized leader. As such, Professor Muhammad Yunus is way much big a figure for the state to simply remove from the horizon. State of Bangladesh can stage an event to remove Muhammad Yunus – but the consequence will be too much to handle. The mind of statecraft is not that clouded yet with jealousy not to be able to think of that.

But is it only jealousy? Will not our prime Minister, surrounded by some seasoned bureaucrats, shrewd businessmen, weigh the returns before investing heavily in a venture? The serious efforts to undermine Professor Yunus should make it clear to political observers of Bangladesh that the game plan, Mrs. Hasina has for the future Bangladesh, finds Mr. Yunus the last formidable obstacle.  So the actions of the state regarding Muhammad Yunus may give us a glimpse into the future political scenario – at least as envisioned by Prime Minister Hasina – of Bangladesh.

It can be imagined that in Mrs. Hasina’s future Bangladesh, where Dr. Yunus is the only formidable opponent, Bangladesh Nationalist Party or its leader Khaleda Zia is not a factor anymore. May be Mrs. Hasina is gearing up for the time when in PM Hasina’s plan, BNP is a dissipated force, Khaleda Zia is either in jail or removed permanently from the landscape of Bangladesh politics. BNP as an organization is totally dilapidated with most of its activists – leaders either have abandoned the party, or got killed or in jail or hiding from the guns of RAB in fear of life. This is the time, where a fraction of civil society will either remain silent or blame the victim, BNP for all the mayhem it brought upon them. This will be time where the mainstream media will justify their support of the government actions by their ‘inability’ to support anti-independence forces. Shutting down one or two more TV channels or newspapers will send the appropriate signal and keep the journalists blissfully tame. This will be the time to some progressive loud voices will tell the nation how difficult it is for them to support the Government – but they had to because they simply could not imagine the war criminals get Scott free and the country again gets infiltrated by the Islamic terrorists. It will be the time the domesticated human rights organizations will suddenly keep focusing only on micro-level stuff like women’s’ empowerment, gender equality etc.

This is probably why potential obstructions are slowly removed. So that Odhikar cannot continue cataloging Government repression of the opposition and government gag on the media – Odhikar is taken out. So that one Mahmudur Rahman cannot use his fiery activist journalistic style to rile up public support against the government – Mahmudur Rahman is taken out.

How BNP will be decimated depends on the wishful thinking of the 50 years planners of Mujib dynasty. It may be plausible that government is waiting for BNP to launch it aggressive street agitations in demand of care taker Government. That will be the excuse to arrest all top and mid-level leadership of BNP and hit hard on the street level activists. The state has already conducted a few dress rehearsals of this plan – and the planners think it is very much doable on the part of the government. It is not surprising that BNP is well aware of this plan of the government and hence very reluctant to start street agitation too early.

So when the only meaningful opposition political force it taken care of by the state – it will be the time when a disgruntled brave faction of the civil society, some stubborn crazy politicians – with full support of the restless but silent majority of 80% of the populace will try to rally under the only other powerful figure still standing – Professor Muhammad Yunus.

In the post cataclysmic future Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus is seen as the John Connor (Reference: The Terminator Movie) under whose leadership, the resistance begins. Is this why the future of Bangladesh – the future Hasina Government- sending terminators in the form of finance Minister AMA Muhit to terminate the future leader of the resistance professor Muhammad Yunus?