After the BDR mutiny and carnage
Syed Fattahul Alim | Wednesday, 4 March 2009
The nation is in a shock. The magnitude and scale of the carnage that took place at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Headquarters cannot be compared to any such killing in the past. It was not simply a case of slaughtering one group of people by another where one group hates the other because they are different. It cannot also be compared to a riot where tribal psyche overtakes the civilised existence and propels the killing instinct of one tribe to annihilate another the way it happened in Rwanda.
What happened at the BDR headquarters during the mutiny of the rank and file of the BDR personnel that began in the morning hours on February 25 is incomprehensible if one is to explain the chain of events in familiar terms that made an abattoir of the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana area in the capital city.
The bloodbath of the BDR officers during the mutiny eludes any commonsensical mode of elucidation. For if it was an outburst of grievance about pay, service benefits, postings or condition of work as was given to learn by some jawans expressing their angers before the television camera, then killing the very persons in authority, who might have heard their complaints and taken necessary measures to address those, is certainly not the way to resolve the issue. Even if it was a case of a victim taking revenge on its tormentor, then the kind of grievances given vent to by some jawans as carried by the media during the hours of the mutiny do not match what the nation witnessed between February 25 and 26.
Many rumours and hypotheses are going the rounds to explain the apparently inexplicable. Since any simple and straight interpretation fails to comprehend the scale and monstrosity of the whole incident, it demands investigation by experts. The government has already formed such committee to investigate circumstances of the mutiny followed by the massacre of army officers and the persons responsible for it. The government has also declared that in spite of the general amnesty for the mutineers, those involved in the killing, pillage and other kinds of crimes during the mutiny will be tried under a special tribunal. The death toll is rising, with so far the number of bodies recovered at 74 including more than sixty army officers. The funeral prayer for martyred 41 army officers and that of Director General of the BDR has been held at the National Parade Square in the capital city.
Meanwhile, the prime minister has announced in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) that none of those involved in the carnage at the BDR HQs during the mutiny will be spared including those hatching the plot. Finger has also been pointed at the possibility of outside instigation in the barbarity enacted on the fateful days of 33-hr mutiny at the BDR HQs. Meanwhile, a case has been filed with the Lalbagh police station accusing more than one thousand persons including the BDR's deputy assistant director (DAD) in the incident. Army has also been deployed to catch the fugitive mutineers as well as recover arms and weapons lost from the BDR HQs' armoury.
The 50-days old newly elected government led by prime minister Sheikh Hasina now in office deserves thanks for handling the situation in a way that the mutiny could be subdued in time to save many civilian lives and averting the danger of its being spilled over into the surrounding areas.
Words fail to console the bereaved families of the martyred BDR officers. But it is not just the families whose members serving in the military have suffered the loss of so many lives full of promise. It is a great loss to the nation and more particularly to its military institution. BDR mutiny and the way misguided soldiers of the BDR turned on their senior officers with unprecedented show of vengeance and cruelty is a blow to the great tradition of professionalism and discipline that our armed forces are proud of and famous for. The nation is proud of our armed forces for their valour and sacrifice and for their historic roles in the hours of need.
One can recall here the war of liberation when they revolted against the Pakistani military junta to free their motherland from its evil clutches. During the War of Independence, they along with the freedom-loving youths from among the common masses joining the ranks of liberation struggle as freedom fighters, whom they trained and guided, fought shoulder to shoulder and made supreme sacrifices to give us the taste of freedom. Even after the Independence, the armed forces have left a glorious legacy of courage and sacrifice to keep national sovereignty safe and intact. The BDR, as a paramilitary force to assist the armed forces in their noble mission of keeping the nation safe and free, has been guarding the country's borders with great reputation.
But the incident of Wednesday and Thursday (February 25 and 26) will remain as a blot on the great name and reputation of the proud armed forces of the country. It will take years to restore the image that has been lost through the mindless act of damage done by some errant members of the BDR in collusion with the schemers inciting them from behind the screen.
The nation wants that the perpetrators of the monstrosity at Pilkhana HQs of BDR are brought to justice before the blood of the martyrs may get dried up. The suggestion of the prime minister that she would seek help from the reputed US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or that of the British Scotland Yard is reflective of her seriousness and sincerity about ferreting out the perpetrators of the macabre carnage.
Considering the magnitude of the cruelty and barbarity of the incident, it has been rightly described by the political and military leaders as well as the members of the intelligentsia as a national crisis. So, the situation demands national unity to face it with courage and patience. On the political front, it also calls for cooperation and understanding between the ruling coalition and the opposition to tide over the crisis.
Unity is important because nation is faced with a grave threat to its integrity and sovereignty as never before. For the sake of national unity, any act or utterance of word by any quarter that might cause mistrust, widespread hatred or panic has to be avoided at all costs. The whole business of investigation should be left to the committees formed by the government and experts working there for the purpose. In a similar vein, the tasks of trying and giving judgement on the incident are the business of the court and should also be left to it. Otherwise there is the risk of frustrating the entire exercise of unmasking the real culprits behind the bloody BDR mutiny and bringing them to justice.
This is the time for the national leaders to demonstrate responsibility and discretion and not one-upmanship. For we are to prove to the world at large that we are the same nation that wrested its independence through a glorious war of liberation thirty-eight years ago.
What happened at the BDR headquarters during the mutiny of the rank and file of the BDR personnel that began in the morning hours on February 25 is incomprehensible if one is to explain the chain of events in familiar terms that made an abattoir of the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana area in the capital city.
The bloodbath of the BDR officers during the mutiny eludes any commonsensical mode of elucidation. For if it was an outburst of grievance about pay, service benefits, postings or condition of work as was given to learn by some jawans expressing their angers before the television camera, then killing the very persons in authority, who might have heard their complaints and taken necessary measures to address those, is certainly not the way to resolve the issue. Even if it was a case of a victim taking revenge on its tormentor, then the kind of grievances given vent to by some jawans as carried by the media during the hours of the mutiny do not match what the nation witnessed between February 25 and 26.
Many rumours and hypotheses are going the rounds to explain the apparently inexplicable. Since any simple and straight interpretation fails to comprehend the scale and monstrosity of the whole incident, it demands investigation by experts. The government has already formed such committee to investigate circumstances of the mutiny followed by the massacre of army officers and the persons responsible for it. The government has also declared that in spite of the general amnesty for the mutineers, those involved in the killing, pillage and other kinds of crimes during the mutiny will be tried under a special tribunal. The death toll is rising, with so far the number of bodies recovered at 74 including more than sixty army officers. The funeral prayer for martyred 41 army officers and that of Director General of the BDR has been held at the National Parade Square in the capital city.
Meanwhile, the prime minister has announced in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) that none of those involved in the carnage at the BDR HQs during the mutiny will be spared including those hatching the plot. Finger has also been pointed at the possibility of outside instigation in the barbarity enacted on the fateful days of 33-hr mutiny at the BDR HQs. Meanwhile, a case has been filed with the Lalbagh police station accusing more than one thousand persons including the BDR's deputy assistant director (DAD) in the incident. Army has also been deployed to catch the fugitive mutineers as well as recover arms and weapons lost from the BDR HQs' armoury.
The 50-days old newly elected government led by prime minister Sheikh Hasina now in office deserves thanks for handling the situation in a way that the mutiny could be subdued in time to save many civilian lives and averting the danger of its being spilled over into the surrounding areas.
Words fail to console the bereaved families of the martyred BDR officers. But it is not just the families whose members serving in the military have suffered the loss of so many lives full of promise. It is a great loss to the nation and more particularly to its military institution. BDR mutiny and the way misguided soldiers of the BDR turned on their senior officers with unprecedented show of vengeance and cruelty is a blow to the great tradition of professionalism and discipline that our armed forces are proud of and famous for. The nation is proud of our armed forces for their valour and sacrifice and for their historic roles in the hours of need.
One can recall here the war of liberation when they revolted against the Pakistani military junta to free their motherland from its evil clutches. During the War of Independence, they along with the freedom-loving youths from among the common masses joining the ranks of liberation struggle as freedom fighters, whom they trained and guided, fought shoulder to shoulder and made supreme sacrifices to give us the taste of freedom. Even after the Independence, the armed forces have left a glorious legacy of courage and sacrifice to keep national sovereignty safe and intact. The BDR, as a paramilitary force to assist the armed forces in their noble mission of keeping the nation safe and free, has been guarding the country's borders with great reputation.
But the incident of Wednesday and Thursday (February 25 and 26) will remain as a blot on the great name and reputation of the proud armed forces of the country. It will take years to restore the image that has been lost through the mindless act of damage done by some errant members of the BDR in collusion with the schemers inciting them from behind the screen.
The nation wants that the perpetrators of the monstrosity at Pilkhana HQs of BDR are brought to justice before the blood of the martyrs may get dried up. The suggestion of the prime minister that she would seek help from the reputed US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or that of the British Scotland Yard is reflective of her seriousness and sincerity about ferreting out the perpetrators of the macabre carnage.
Considering the magnitude of the cruelty and barbarity of the incident, it has been rightly described by the political and military leaders as well as the members of the intelligentsia as a national crisis. So, the situation demands national unity to face it with courage and patience. On the political front, it also calls for cooperation and understanding between the ruling coalition and the opposition to tide over the crisis.
Unity is important because nation is faced with a grave threat to its integrity and sovereignty as never before. For the sake of national unity, any act or utterance of word by any quarter that might cause mistrust, widespread hatred or panic has to be avoided at all costs. The whole business of investigation should be left to the committees formed by the government and experts working there for the purpose. In a similar vein, the tasks of trying and giving judgement on the incident are the business of the court and should also be left to it. Otherwise there is the risk of frustrating the entire exercise of unmasking the real culprits behind the bloody BDR mutiny and bringing them to justice.
This is the time for the national leaders to demonstrate responsibility and discretion and not one-upmanship. For we are to prove to the world at large that we are the same nation that wrested its independence through a glorious war of liberation thirty-eight years ago.