Recollecting the past for a better future
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Amin Ahmed Chowdhury, Bir Bikram (BB)
OVER the years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh has been marginalized by the successive governments since post August 15, 1975. Some of these governments did it deliberately and some, as a matter of convenience.
It is the government that formulates defense policy of the country spearheaded by the MoD. Of course, the Armed Forces, MoD, experts on the subject and all other concerned ministries, organizations, agencies, geo-political analysts, research organizations, institutions, scientists, even individuals, etc., are involved, in one way or other, in the task of carrying out the required spade works for the defence policy of a nation. It is a never ending on-going process. And the policy is formulated primarily from the perspectives of national interests. Other variable factors are there. The policy is largely based on a national consensus and meant for appropriate adjustments from time to time.
With the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country through a bloody war, the political and social values and visions underwent dramatic and revolutionary changes in the perception of its people. From 1947 until Mar 01, 1971, the noodle point of the defense plan of the then Pakistan was based on immediate threat from India. After the War of Liberation 1971, the need arose for orienting ourselves with new ground realities, making a total 180 degree 'u' turn and for formulating our defense plan considering India, as our trusted and tested friend.
In many areas, Bangladesh and India have got common interests. Thus, both countries have stakes, to cite an example, on sharing water of the common rivers. It is an advantage if mutually agreed projects are undertaken in areas of common interests. Otherwise, some problems would persist in perpetuity; such touchy problems will need time to solve. With a view to creating a viable regional economic zone having effective connectivity among the countries of the region with a deep sea-port of Bangladesh as the hub, it has now become important for making efforts to create a viable regional economic zone. The bilateral friendship can be deepened in the process. This must be built on the basis of mutual trust and respect, not only between India and Bangladesh but also among the participating neighboring countries.
Particularly, the national interests of both Bangladesh and India will have to be adjusted to a reasonable level in order to help strengthen bilateral friendship in to-day's context. Bangladesh would like to dominate the Bay of Bengal. For that, we need a fast moving, effective and well equipped sizable Naval Force. To adjust its national interest, Bangladesh has to endeavour in order to win the trust of Indian Navy that has a dominant role in the Indian Ocean. What types of adjustments India would expect from Bangladesh and how far Bangladesh could accommodate those desires of India - and if not what is the alternative left for Bangladesh - are matters for consideration.
No doubt, Bangladesh needs India's friendship because of its geo-political position. India also cannot ignore Bangladesh; if it does, it will be a luxury on its part. So formulating defense policy prior to 1971 was relatively easier than it is after Independence. It needs a bold, prudent and pragmatic frame of mind to carry out a balanced equation, on all outstanding sensitive problems and issues of concern in order to smoothen the bond between Bangladesh and India more meaningfully. And there is no reason why it could not be achieved.
As far as the defence force of Bangladesh is concerned, the President of the Republic -- supposedly a non-partisan personality -- is the real guardian of the Armed Forces under a multi-party democracy. Of course, the Defense Forces are directly under Ministry of Defense (MoD). As per the original rules of business, all relevant policies/rules and regulations/cases/issues including discipline and relevant promotion files of the officers of the Armed Forces, etc., are processed through MoD to get the government's endorsement -- and finally the President's approval, if it is so required. No other Headquarters (HQ) or individual appointment-holder can butt into the process; if it does, then the process becomes illegal, so is the decision.
Military personnel cannot go to the civil court but can lodge an appeal to the next higher authority, including the President of the country. The simple process allows them to get judgment (right or wrong, perhaps 95% right judgment from military point of view) very quickly. The essence of all military activities is that the order must be lawful and it is commander's sacred duty to ensure that lawful and reasonable order is passed. For that, a commander must possess a legal bent of mind if not a qualified lawyer.
In military life, it is commanders'/seniors' morale obligation to ensure that no grudging attitude is grown within the rank and file due to miscarriage of justice or due to any parochial approach and mal-administration. If the commanding officer, including the President of the country, behaves otherwise, the military command is bound to be polluted.
The MoD, with active support of the Services HQs, scientists/planning cell, military and geopolitical experts/foreign policy analysts and other concerned individuals/experts/institutions, is supposed to draw and maintain a pragmatic and sound defense policy and strategically plan/plans including manpower, weaponry and technological planning and training, etc. The MoD exercises full budgetary control over the Armed Forces including Defense Purchases and other organizations which are directly under the MoD.
Bypassing MoD/Director General of Defence Purchase (DGDP), however, started in Bangladesh in 1982. Personal whims must not be the order of the day is. The MoD is expected to ensure that all cantonments have their own individual master plans as per approved organogram to meet the military requirements (including future requirements) in particular. Professional requirements of the Armed Forces are to get top priority than any kind of commercial enterprises.
All military land and cantonment of the defense establishments belongs to the MoD. On behalf of the MoD/Govt., the Director Military Land and Cantonment -- a civilian officer with his civilian staff and office under his command -- administers military land and civil administration of the Cantonment area.
The notable aspect about of civil-military relationship is that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cantonment Board, who acts as the Secretary, Cantt Board, is junior in rank to the Station Commander who is supposed to be a senior military officer and is always to be the President of the Cantonment Board. Yet magisterial power is vested with the CEO only, who holds court within the Cantonment area.
It is felt by many quarters that the cantonment executive service (as one of the cadres of Bangladesh Civil Service or BCS) should be a separate cadre service, as it used to be. The operational responsibility of the respective Forces is always vested with the respective Services Chief of Staff. The govt. has the prerogative to select anyone as the incoming Chief of Army Staff (CAS) from among the senior most serving Lieutenant Generals; yet merit and seniority count but are not binding. The services chief's tenure can not be extended on a yearly basis (except during war or emergency) but the incumbent chief, for the greater interest of that particular service, could be reappointed as a fresh candidate for full tenure of, let us say three to four years, as prescribed in the regulations. It is for the betterment of a service, the incumbent chief should command his force continuously for three years, but a tenure of any Chief, if less than two years', could be treated as no tenure or command. Some of the Indian Chiefs hold their tenure not even for a year! When an appointment is a tenure appointment, the question of age or length of service does not come in.
For a soldier -- soldiers include officer too -- for all types of promotions, physical fitness is a must, except war injured personnel and for officers, promotion up to majors is on seniority or the required length of service/recommendation in the Annual Confidential Reports (ACR)-cum-passing promotion examinations. All promotions to the selected posts of the Armed Forces are done through a regular annual Promotion Board, governed by set procedures, judging each candidate purely on the basis of individual's qualification, seniority-cum merit, the ACRs including recommendations therein for three years, cum physical fitness (war injured are exception).
Soldiers are supposed to be oath-bound and absolutely loyal to the basic values on which the country got its independence. They have no business to get themselves involved in internal/national politics. Of course on Defense and defense-related issues particularly on geo-political issues, the Services HQs are always supposed to be consulted and be part of the national policy-making body.
There is no denying the fact that after Nov 07, 1975, with an iron hand, off and on, risking his own life while controlling any volatile situation, singlehandedly, the discipline of morally shattered Bangladesh Armed Forces was gradually brought back to the normalcy by an undaunted Ziaur Rahman. Many lives were lost, yet in the midst of a dreadfully chaotic situation, Zia, initially during zero-hour with the help of bold, committed and graceful Lt Col (later on Brig.) Aminul Haq BU, along with other committed and courageous commanders, could later on exert his influence and instill discipline in the rank and file of the Armed Forces.
Committed and determined Col Taher, with his Gono Bahini-concept hit an organized, terrible blow at the backbone of the command structure of the Bangladesh Armed Forces; yet composed Zia's courageous efforts bore fruits. In the middle way, suddenly he was killed and ever-lucky Ershad who was supposed to retire in December 1981, succeeded Gen. Ziaur Rahman. He was the ultimate main beneficiary of all these memorable efforts and as an efficient dictator who could rule Bangladesh for long nine years to a great extent with flying colours.
In spite of tremendous and sincere efforts made by President Zia to ensure that the Bangladesh Armed Forces become more professional, without being involved in politics and having a solid foundation, rather than becoming power mongers; yet it was during Zia's period, perhaps because of his inexperience in running the statecraft and lack of political acumen, that all types of ad-hoc system started creeping particularly into the higher command echelon of the Armed Forces. President Zia used govt. machinery, including intelligence branches, to organize a political party for him, if required by horse trading under hand dealings.
In fact, at the initial stage, most of Zia's advisors were his own colleagues of erstwhile ISI of the Pakistani days. It is from the days of President Ziaur Rahman onward that the undesirable ad-hoc arrangements started making deep inroads into both the defense forces as well as the political field. This, without any exception, has been unfortunately nourished by all the successive governments, after Aug 15, 1975, until today. The worst victim of this type of uncalled-for adventurism initiated by politically inexperienced Gen. Zia and also followed by all successive governments, is the Constitution of the country, golden values of the War of Liberation '71. The Defense Forces and the country have been running rudderless, and having a grudging attitude, politically aimlessly and socially.
After August 15, 1975, a hand-picked Khondokar Mustaque, the then Commerce Minister of Bangabandhu Cabinet, engaged himself as the self-appointed President of the country. He was the Brutus of the entire tragic and brutal episode of Aug 15, 1975 and until Nov 03, 1975. On Aug 20, 1975 it was Kh. Mustaque who proclaimed Martial Law through out the country and became the self-appointed Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA).
Under Kh. Mustaque, the CMLA, Major General Ziaur Rahman -- visibly an all powerful Army Chief -- became one of the most docile Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrators (DCMLAs). Kh. Mustaque's govt. made Colonel H. M. Ershad, while he was still attending National Defense College/ndc course in India, the Deputy Chief of Staff, by giving him double promotions - from Col. to Brig. (now Brig Gen.) in a few days and Maj. Gen. in weeks' time. There was hardly any file work (including Promotion Board at the Army Headquarters), carried out by the Ministry of Defense. It is said that an opportunist and extremely shrewd Gen. Ershad made a furious speech, which was prejudicial to military discipline and good order (Army Act Section 55), just to instigate young officers; yet to many then, it was an appropriate speech, describing the then ruling party's overbearing activities in front of the agitated and assembled officers at the Army Headquarters (AHQ) during Maj. Dalim's wife in 1974. As a result, Gen. Ershad without commanding any formation or any ground troops of the Bangladesh Army and yet merely on the basis of the verbal criteria got double promotions in weeks' time!
By Nov 04, 1975, Mustaque's appointee CAS Gen. Ziaur Rahman resigned and requested the govt. for granting him full pension. By Nov 05, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Sayem was hand-picked and made the President of the country, who became the CMLA, too. Simultaneously, Chief General Staff (CGS) Brig. Khaled Musharraf was promoted to the rank of Maj. Gen. and appointed as the Chief of Staff, Bangladesh Army. Until then, then, nobody consulted the Ministry of Defense or even the AHQ but used the Ministry of Defense, including AHQ, as a printing press only.
It is an irony of fate that the Chief Justice of the country who is supposed to be the custodian of the constitution of the country, became instrumental in destroying its values. Later on, President Justice Sayem confirmed the death sentence of Col Taher, who fought gallantly in the War of Liberation'71 and was severely injured and lost a leg. He was unfortunately hanged on July 21 1976.
Col Taher was hanged when his war-time comrade Gen. Zia was the Army Chief and DCMLA and Gen. Manzur, the CGS, who along with Col Taher, Ziauddin and B.G. Patuary, made a daring escape through Sialkot Border and joined the Liberation War in end-July, 1971.
After few months (April'1977), it was claimed that President Justice Sayem resigned on health grounds and Gen. Ziaur Rahman became the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
President Ziaur Rahman, while being in uniform, contested the Presidential election and became the elected President of the country. Many people say that under a very adverse situation, Zia had to commit many irregularities. Whatever may be the reason, President Zia set an extremely bad precedence, flouting all military rules and regulations, norms and ethics.
By early 1979 (effective from Dec '78), President Ziaur Rahman had relinquished the post of Chief of Army Staff (CAS) and appointed Major General H. M. Ershad as the CAS, Bangladesh Army, after simultaneously promoting himself to Lieutenant General and H. M. Ershad from Maj. Gen. to Lt. Gen. For Gen. Zia, remaining CAS and yet becoming Head of the Government/State, was not enough. He promoted himself to the rank of a Lieutenant General, as if the post of the President of the country is that of the rank of Lieutenant General! What a pity! All such undesirable activities paved the way for creating a messy situation in the Ministry of Defense.
To find out ways and means to carry out effective monitoring of the activities of the newly appointed CAS, President Zia created another HQ (though superfluous) by the name of Supreme Commander's HQ, just adjacent to the AHQ. Under military law or act, rules and regulation, no such HQ, headed by the Head of the State or Government, does exist. It is an artificial HQ without any legal validity. Perhaps, flouting existing rules and regulation is in our blood. Zia probably underestimated the ambitions and intelligence highly ambitious Ershad and overplayed his own card. Zia used the Supreme HQ primarily to keep a watch over AHQ/CAS, dishing out some responsibility like relief and rehabilitation only. Ershad, on assumption of state power, almost bifurcated the traditional MoD, conveniently made it all powerful HQ directly under his command.
The President of the Republic, besides being the President, is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces like the British system) - a position which should not to be confused with the appointment of Commander-in-Chief, which is a military appointment meant for commanding a group of Armed Forces of three services and other elements in a large theatre of military operation or war or of the Armed Forces of the country.
The President of the country, without holding any active military appointment, is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces because it is he who is the only authorized person who can declare war against any other country or aggressor and order the Armed Forces of the country to march against the aggressor.
There are century-old institutions that are still there to monitor and operate as the check and balance against any undesirable movement of the Armed Forces. In Bangladesh it seems that no body bothers even to read these well-drafted Rules and Regulations, pamphlets/booklets on custom of service and etiquette etc. No wonder in 1982, the Ministry of Defense published/reprinted a military law book amazingly with the title: The Manual of Bangladesh Army Law. There is nothing called Army Law but Military Law and of course, the Army Act is there within the military law. And military law is a part and parcel of the prevailing laws of the country, duly approved by the parliament of the country.
Hardly any Cantonment has got any Master Plan; yet millions of takas have been spent from the development budget of MoD/Armed Forces. Over 80% of defense budget is spent on pay and allowances and non-productive areas, hardly 4.0-5.0 per cent is spent on arms ammunition and equipment and these is no budget for Research and Development (R&D). The present-day unimaginative budget itself is good enough to make Armed Forces anything but a professional one. At present, the like the offices of Director General Medical Services and, to a great extent, DGDP, the office of the Engineering in Chief (E in C) dignified staff only as in most respects MoD is almost non-existent.
The promotions in the Armed Forces are based on command structure of the Armed Forces. Since the Army Chief is a four-star General, the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (DCAS) could be a Lt. Gen/three-star general or even four-star general. There could be two DCAS - one for training and one for administration. When Gen. Zia was the DCAS, hardly any file used to go to him. The strength of the Bangladesh Army dictates that there could be three corps which means logically posts of three Lieutenant Generals do exist in the Bangladesh Army. Along with that command channel, the Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) in the AHQ could also be Lieutenant Generals. But without a command structure, how people could be promoted to the rank of a Lieutenant General.
The ad-hoc arrangement in the military higher command echelon, introduced during Zia's period particularly with the creation of Supreme Commander's HQ (now AFD), undermined ultimately the posts of the three services Chiefs of Staff, particularly the CAS, Bangladesh Army as a dignified and trust worthy appointment, duly approved by the Cabinet (the only appointment that is normally endorsed by the Cabinet). If the then Govt. was suspicious of Gen. Ershad, then why Zia's Govt. made him the CAS, Bangladesh Army.
There are DGFI, NSI, SB/Police, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defense/MOD and if all these, government apparatuses can not monitor then, why one should keep all these organizations as ears and eyes of the establishment/Govt. Duplication of responsibility is an immature thinking process and a dangerous process, as it amounts to NO COMMAND.
The two of the best known Presidents of this country were murdered almost in broad day-light and apparently Intelligence Branches and all other Govt. machinery had no clue about the coup. So is the case with the recent BDR carnage in Peelkhana. Regarding the clue of the Bangabandhu murder case, our Intelligence Branches, including media, occasionally quote CIA reports. Sitting in Dhaka city, our Intelligence Branches had no knowledge and now after 35 years are asking people to get authentic information from the sources who observed the incident with telescope, if not satellite, which are bound to be misleading. Our country very badly needs to have authentic intelligence networking, duly developed by the qualified patriotic professionals and not by relatives, party men or 'my men-types'. All successive Governments made Intelligence Branches almost non professional by employing not only non-qualified officials but also sycophants only. Creating a Rasputin or a monster is easy but its characteristic is such that it ultimately swallows its own mentor/creator. The Bangladeshis are no exception.
In the power struggle after Aug 15, 1975, Col Taher with all his goodwill wanted to use Zia and his image for his political end. Zia at the crucial moment got the required help from Col Taher but ultimately sent him to the gallows. Col Taher met the tragic end, like that of the heroes of French Revolution. Zia wanted to use Ershad temporarily as a stop-gap, but Ershad used all the privileges offered by Zia very effectively and masterly ensured Zia's berth in a posh grave/ mausoleum (Ershad claims that it was done by Gen. Manzur).
Immediately after the murder of Zia, Ershad, with sobbing eyes, offered Begum Zia the DCAS's house as a gift. A strategist, Ershad proved that he was a better chess player than a football player. The land belongs to MoD and on behalf of the MoD, the MEO under the DML and CA is the custodian of the land; yet General Ershad manipulated and managed to transfer the house to Begum Zia, just to have a control over her in due course of time if she wanted to unearth the murder cases of Zia and Manzur or challenging him and his leadership by entering into open politics. Ershad wanted that in course of time to take over the BNP, a readymade political party with most of its so-called leaders already in line with him.
President Zia -- a valiant freedom fighter, materially an honest person having an outstanding leadership qualities and a patriot of the highest order -- came into power through a quasi military force backed by the Gono Bahini of Col Taher/ Jatiyo Sangstratic Dal (JSD). He appeared in the political field as the leader of the nationalistic force. Gen. Ershad, materially and morally a sheer manipulator, believes in gains above every thing else, captured state power by flexing muscle of the Armed Forces, thereby making Armed Forces a reckonable force in the political horizon of Bangladesh.
Taking over the legacy of the President Zia -- who knowingly or may be unknowingly -- polluted national politics to a great extent, Ershad started twisting and sharpening it further and was gradually able to destroy/damage the moral fabric of the country. But he ran the country cleverly and efficiently. Gen. Ershad knows the art of keeping the hen alive yet gets the golden eggs one by one. The present-generation leaders slaughter the hen to get all the eggs in one go and within the tenure.
Prior to taking over the state power, Gen. Ershad very loudly claimed that the Armed Forces, being the direct product of the War of Liberation, must share state power. He sounded like what is described in the Turkey's constitution. Ershad perhaps wanted to give lip service only to this concept as long as he was the CAS, Bangladesh Army. Ershad and his accomplices did not take part in the War of Liberation '71, yet wanted to take the honey out of war booties.
The military personnel who defected from the erstwhile Pak Armed Forces, fought the War of Liberation '71, along with the common people of the country, under the command of the exile govt. of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and upheld their complete allegiance to the elected exile govt., primarily to protect and restore the fun damental rights of the people of Bangladesh and to achieve the independence of the nation by maintaining the democratic process in tact.
It was the democratic spirit against military rule that was the moving force during the War of Liberation 1971. But Ershad was virtually dishonoring the Freedom Fighters (FFs) and their spirit by saying that Armed Forces were a product of Liberation War and must share political power. For making such a statement -- clearly violating the established military rules -- President Satter issued the dismissal order to Gen. Ershad. But it is said that President Satter's own Military Secretary, Defense Secretary and most of his so-called influential cabinet colleagues who were otherwise 'political touts', did not cooperate with him. Instead, they informed Ershad and allowed him to come over to Bangabhaban immediately to take over the state power.
In the process, the Armed Forces, as an institution, suffered a lot. People carried a long struggle against the military rule and finally dislodged him. Thereafter, all successive Governments started taking protective measures and in most cases, were trying to size up the Armed Forces. The latter, being the most modernizing agent of the society, were increasingly becoming the most important and likely contestant to become the Head of Govt., if not Head of the State.
The Caretaker Govt. concept has been polluting further the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The system should be abolished forthwith. The Peelkhana carnage is not an isolated incident but a planned conspiracy, probably hatched at home and abroad with a grudging attitude to undermine the security capability of Bangladesh and to hamper its capacity building process.
Politics is not the cup of tea for the Armed Forces. They remain efficient within the cantonments and battle fields and occasional disaster management operations. They are supposed to guard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. To perform their constitutional duties, they need to undertake all types of vigorous hard training for almost 24 hours. Playing golf, is not enough. Attending PT in the morning and every week, besides 25 mile-route march, running nine miles with 08 pack on the shoulder along with the rifle, are a must. So is also the carring out of annual collective training (minimum continuously two months) including Inter Services field- and sea-level exercises at the grass roots and higher command level training exercises round the year. The Armed Forces must not be used for any other jobs than the prescribed military/professional jobs.
The accumulated anomalies in the Armed Forces have been nourished by almost all of us, deliberately and vigorously, mostly due to lack of comprehensive knowledge in running the statecraft. Ultimately in democratic Bangladesh, a serving CAS became senior to Secretary and equivalent to the Cabinet Secretary, in rank and status. The CAS is not under the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence! Even the PSO of the Armed Forces Division enjoys the status of the Secretary of Ministry of Defense! If it is so, then the Ministry of Defense virtually has got no job to perform and should be abolished. The Secretary of the MoD cannot share his responsibilities with a subordinate who is supposed to be under him. Similarly, on paper the CAS enjoys the above-Secretary status. It means the rank and status above those of the Defence Secretary, yet on ground, as and when needed, the CAS is indirectly under the control of the PSO, Armed Forces Division. The services of the PSO of the Armed Forces Division is governed by Army Act/respective services act, where the CAS is the main authority, as operational responsibility of running the Army is vested with the CAS.
In Bangladesh, since the liberation, perhaps because of past legacy, almost all democratic Governments have been remained mentally worried about how to stop Martial Law (ML) taking place. The President of the country can place an area under Martial Law by calling the military and order the military forces to administer civil administration of the area. Any other person including the CAS/C-in-C doing so is illegal and punishable under the existing Army Act/ military law, as it amounts to mutiny. Yet the Martial Law rule, with or without the consent of the President, was experienced by the country off and on, because of activities carried out by the elected governments, beyond their constitutional limit -- some times very nakedly and so nakedly that made people to bewilder. That paved the way for ML rule. 1/11 -- though is not a ML rule as such -- is a vivid example of the recent past. General people rendered overwhelming support to the military-backed caretaker govt. Even some political parties extended support. However, it has generally been observed that ultimately any ad-hoc govt., normally fails to deliver goods, in spite of dazzling beginning, because lack of public touch and broad-based support and well-laid foundation and, above all, lack of human touch. It is bad governance which is the root cause of all these anomalies, resulting in terrible frustrations and creation of a chaotic environment in the country. We have to revert to 1972-73 Constitution. Taking it as the base line, we are to restart our political process, cultivating democratic values which we have been cherishing for centuries. It is through a sustainable democratic system with perseverance that we are to run the country so that we make sustainable and steady progress step by step.
Govt. is a large corporate body. It should behave like so. All organizations are to be run professionally and judiciously. So are the Armed Forces to be commanded by the professional soldiers and fearlessly discharge their sacred responsibilities as prescribed by the established relevant rules and regulation. Otherwise, we will waste our time in experimenting and jumping from one crisis to another deeper one, creating further confusion and chaos.
This is an abridged version of a write-up sent by the writer, to the FE for publication on the occasion of the Victory Day. The writer is a Major General (Al Nu'man, psc) and a former Ambassador. He can be reached at e-mail: sejdach@gmail.com
OVER the years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh has been marginalized by the successive governments since post August 15, 1975. Some of these governments did it deliberately and some, as a matter of convenience.
It is the government that formulates defense policy of the country spearheaded by the MoD. Of course, the Armed Forces, MoD, experts on the subject and all other concerned ministries, organizations, agencies, geo-political analysts, research organizations, institutions, scientists, even individuals, etc., are involved, in one way or other, in the task of carrying out the required spade works for the defence policy of a nation. It is a never ending on-going process. And the policy is formulated primarily from the perspectives of national interests. Other variable factors are there. The policy is largely based on a national consensus and meant for appropriate adjustments from time to time.
With the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country through a bloody war, the political and social values and visions underwent dramatic and revolutionary changes in the perception of its people. From 1947 until Mar 01, 1971, the noodle point of the defense plan of the then Pakistan was based on immediate threat from India. After the War of Liberation 1971, the need arose for orienting ourselves with new ground realities, making a total 180 degree 'u' turn and for formulating our defense plan considering India, as our trusted and tested friend.
In many areas, Bangladesh and India have got common interests. Thus, both countries have stakes, to cite an example, on sharing water of the common rivers. It is an advantage if mutually agreed projects are undertaken in areas of common interests. Otherwise, some problems would persist in perpetuity; such touchy problems will need time to solve. With a view to creating a viable regional economic zone having effective connectivity among the countries of the region with a deep sea-port of Bangladesh as the hub, it has now become important for making efforts to create a viable regional economic zone. The bilateral friendship can be deepened in the process. This must be built on the basis of mutual trust and respect, not only between India and Bangladesh but also among the participating neighboring countries.
Particularly, the national interests of both Bangladesh and India will have to be adjusted to a reasonable level in order to help strengthen bilateral friendship in to-day's context. Bangladesh would like to dominate the Bay of Bengal. For that, we need a fast moving, effective and well equipped sizable Naval Force. To adjust its national interest, Bangladesh has to endeavour in order to win the trust of Indian Navy that has a dominant role in the Indian Ocean. What types of adjustments India would expect from Bangladesh and how far Bangladesh could accommodate those desires of India - and if not what is the alternative left for Bangladesh - are matters for consideration.
No doubt, Bangladesh needs India's friendship because of its geo-political position. India also cannot ignore Bangladesh; if it does, it will be a luxury on its part. So formulating defense policy prior to 1971 was relatively easier than it is after Independence. It needs a bold, prudent and pragmatic frame of mind to carry out a balanced equation, on all outstanding sensitive problems and issues of concern in order to smoothen the bond between Bangladesh and India more meaningfully. And there is no reason why it could not be achieved.
As far as the defence force of Bangladesh is concerned, the President of the Republic -- supposedly a non-partisan personality -- is the real guardian of the Armed Forces under a multi-party democracy. Of course, the Defense Forces are directly under Ministry of Defense (MoD). As per the original rules of business, all relevant policies/rules and regulations/cases/issues including discipline and relevant promotion files of the officers of the Armed Forces, etc., are processed through MoD to get the government's endorsement -- and finally the President's approval, if it is so required. No other Headquarters (HQ) or individual appointment-holder can butt into the process; if it does, then the process becomes illegal, so is the decision.
Military personnel cannot go to the civil court but can lodge an appeal to the next higher authority, including the President of the country. The simple process allows them to get judgment (right or wrong, perhaps 95% right judgment from military point of view) very quickly. The essence of all military activities is that the order must be lawful and it is commander's sacred duty to ensure that lawful and reasonable order is passed. For that, a commander must possess a legal bent of mind if not a qualified lawyer.
In military life, it is commanders'/seniors' morale obligation to ensure that no grudging attitude is grown within the rank and file due to miscarriage of justice or due to any parochial approach and mal-administration. If the commanding officer, including the President of the country, behaves otherwise, the military command is bound to be polluted.
The MoD, with active support of the Services HQs, scientists/planning cell, military and geopolitical experts/foreign policy analysts and other concerned individuals/experts/institutions, is supposed to draw and maintain a pragmatic and sound defense policy and strategically plan/plans including manpower, weaponry and technological planning and training, etc. The MoD exercises full budgetary control over the Armed Forces including Defense Purchases and other organizations which are directly under the MoD.
Bypassing MoD/Director General of Defence Purchase (DGDP), however, started in Bangladesh in 1982. Personal whims must not be the order of the day is. The MoD is expected to ensure that all cantonments have their own individual master plans as per approved organogram to meet the military requirements (including future requirements) in particular. Professional requirements of the Armed Forces are to get top priority than any kind of commercial enterprises.
All military land and cantonment of the defense establishments belongs to the MoD. On behalf of the MoD/Govt., the Director Military Land and Cantonment -- a civilian officer with his civilian staff and office under his command -- administers military land and civil administration of the Cantonment area.
The notable aspect about of civil-military relationship is that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cantonment Board, who acts as the Secretary, Cantt Board, is junior in rank to the Station Commander who is supposed to be a senior military officer and is always to be the President of the Cantonment Board. Yet magisterial power is vested with the CEO only, who holds court within the Cantonment area.
It is felt by many quarters that the cantonment executive service (as one of the cadres of Bangladesh Civil Service or BCS) should be a separate cadre service, as it used to be. The operational responsibility of the respective Forces is always vested with the respective Services Chief of Staff. The govt. has the prerogative to select anyone as the incoming Chief of Army Staff (CAS) from among the senior most serving Lieutenant Generals; yet merit and seniority count but are not binding. The services chief's tenure can not be extended on a yearly basis (except during war or emergency) but the incumbent chief, for the greater interest of that particular service, could be reappointed as a fresh candidate for full tenure of, let us say three to four years, as prescribed in the regulations. It is for the betterment of a service, the incumbent chief should command his force continuously for three years, but a tenure of any Chief, if less than two years', could be treated as no tenure or command. Some of the Indian Chiefs hold their tenure not even for a year! When an appointment is a tenure appointment, the question of age or length of service does not come in.
For a soldier -- soldiers include officer too -- for all types of promotions, physical fitness is a must, except war injured personnel and for officers, promotion up to majors is on seniority or the required length of service/recommendation in the Annual Confidential Reports (ACR)-cum-passing promotion examinations. All promotions to the selected posts of the Armed Forces are done through a regular annual Promotion Board, governed by set procedures, judging each candidate purely on the basis of individual's qualification, seniority-cum merit, the ACRs including recommendations therein for three years, cum physical fitness (war injured are exception).
Soldiers are supposed to be oath-bound and absolutely loyal to the basic values on which the country got its independence. They have no business to get themselves involved in internal/national politics. Of course on Defense and defense-related issues particularly on geo-political issues, the Services HQs are always supposed to be consulted and be part of the national policy-making body.
There is no denying the fact that after Nov 07, 1975, with an iron hand, off and on, risking his own life while controlling any volatile situation, singlehandedly, the discipline of morally shattered Bangladesh Armed Forces was gradually brought back to the normalcy by an undaunted Ziaur Rahman. Many lives were lost, yet in the midst of a dreadfully chaotic situation, Zia, initially during zero-hour with the help of bold, committed and graceful Lt Col (later on Brig.) Aminul Haq BU, along with other committed and courageous commanders, could later on exert his influence and instill discipline in the rank and file of the Armed Forces.
Committed and determined Col Taher, with his Gono Bahini-concept hit an organized, terrible blow at the backbone of the command structure of the Bangladesh Armed Forces; yet composed Zia's courageous efforts bore fruits. In the middle way, suddenly he was killed and ever-lucky Ershad who was supposed to retire in December 1981, succeeded Gen. Ziaur Rahman. He was the ultimate main beneficiary of all these memorable efforts and as an efficient dictator who could rule Bangladesh for long nine years to a great extent with flying colours.
In spite of tremendous and sincere efforts made by President Zia to ensure that the Bangladesh Armed Forces become more professional, without being involved in politics and having a solid foundation, rather than becoming power mongers; yet it was during Zia's period, perhaps because of his inexperience in running the statecraft and lack of political acumen, that all types of ad-hoc system started creeping particularly into the higher command echelon of the Armed Forces. President Zia used govt. machinery, including intelligence branches, to organize a political party for him, if required by horse trading under hand dealings.
In fact, at the initial stage, most of Zia's advisors were his own colleagues of erstwhile ISI of the Pakistani days. It is from the days of President Ziaur Rahman onward that the undesirable ad-hoc arrangements started making deep inroads into both the defense forces as well as the political field. This, without any exception, has been unfortunately nourished by all the successive governments, after Aug 15, 1975, until today. The worst victim of this type of uncalled-for adventurism initiated by politically inexperienced Gen. Zia and also followed by all successive governments, is the Constitution of the country, golden values of the War of Liberation '71. The Defense Forces and the country have been running rudderless, and having a grudging attitude, politically aimlessly and socially.
After August 15, 1975, a hand-picked Khondokar Mustaque, the then Commerce Minister of Bangabandhu Cabinet, engaged himself as the self-appointed President of the country. He was the Brutus of the entire tragic and brutal episode of Aug 15, 1975 and until Nov 03, 1975. On Aug 20, 1975 it was Kh. Mustaque who proclaimed Martial Law through out the country and became the self-appointed Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA).
Under Kh. Mustaque, the CMLA, Major General Ziaur Rahman -- visibly an all powerful Army Chief -- became one of the most docile Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrators (DCMLAs). Kh. Mustaque's govt. made Colonel H. M. Ershad, while he was still attending National Defense College/ndc course in India, the Deputy Chief of Staff, by giving him double promotions - from Col. to Brig. (now Brig Gen.) in a few days and Maj. Gen. in weeks' time. There was hardly any file work (including Promotion Board at the Army Headquarters), carried out by the Ministry of Defense. It is said that an opportunist and extremely shrewd Gen. Ershad made a furious speech, which was prejudicial to military discipline and good order (Army Act Section 55), just to instigate young officers; yet to many then, it was an appropriate speech, describing the then ruling party's overbearing activities in front of the agitated and assembled officers at the Army Headquarters (AHQ) during Maj. Dalim's wife in 1974. As a result, Gen. Ershad without commanding any formation or any ground troops of the Bangladesh Army and yet merely on the basis of the verbal criteria got double promotions in weeks' time!
By Nov 04, 1975, Mustaque's appointee CAS Gen. Ziaur Rahman resigned and requested the govt. for granting him full pension. By Nov 05, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Sayem was hand-picked and made the President of the country, who became the CMLA, too. Simultaneously, Chief General Staff (CGS) Brig. Khaled Musharraf was promoted to the rank of Maj. Gen. and appointed as the Chief of Staff, Bangladesh Army. Until then, then, nobody consulted the Ministry of Defense or even the AHQ but used the Ministry of Defense, including AHQ, as a printing press only.
It is an irony of fate that the Chief Justice of the country who is supposed to be the custodian of the constitution of the country, became instrumental in destroying its values. Later on, President Justice Sayem confirmed the death sentence of Col Taher, who fought gallantly in the War of Liberation'71 and was severely injured and lost a leg. He was unfortunately hanged on July 21 1976.
Col Taher was hanged when his war-time comrade Gen. Zia was the Army Chief and DCMLA and Gen. Manzur, the CGS, who along with Col Taher, Ziauddin and B.G. Patuary, made a daring escape through Sialkot Border and joined the Liberation War in end-July, 1971.
After few months (April'1977), it was claimed that President Justice Sayem resigned on health grounds and Gen. Ziaur Rahman became the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
President Ziaur Rahman, while being in uniform, contested the Presidential election and became the elected President of the country. Many people say that under a very adverse situation, Zia had to commit many irregularities. Whatever may be the reason, President Zia set an extremely bad precedence, flouting all military rules and regulations, norms and ethics.
By early 1979 (effective from Dec '78), President Ziaur Rahman had relinquished the post of Chief of Army Staff (CAS) and appointed Major General H. M. Ershad as the CAS, Bangladesh Army, after simultaneously promoting himself to Lieutenant General and H. M. Ershad from Maj. Gen. to Lt. Gen. For Gen. Zia, remaining CAS and yet becoming Head of the Government/State, was not enough. He promoted himself to the rank of a Lieutenant General, as if the post of the President of the country is that of the rank of Lieutenant General! What a pity! All such undesirable activities paved the way for creating a messy situation in the Ministry of Defense.
To find out ways and means to carry out effective monitoring of the activities of the newly appointed CAS, President Zia created another HQ (though superfluous) by the name of Supreme Commander's HQ, just adjacent to the AHQ. Under military law or act, rules and regulation, no such HQ, headed by the Head of the State or Government, does exist. It is an artificial HQ without any legal validity. Perhaps, flouting existing rules and regulation is in our blood. Zia probably underestimated the ambitions and intelligence highly ambitious Ershad and overplayed his own card. Zia used the Supreme HQ primarily to keep a watch over AHQ/CAS, dishing out some responsibility like relief and rehabilitation only. Ershad, on assumption of state power, almost bifurcated the traditional MoD, conveniently made it all powerful HQ directly under his command.
The President of the Republic, besides being the President, is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces like the British system) - a position which should not to be confused with the appointment of Commander-in-Chief, which is a military appointment meant for commanding a group of Armed Forces of three services and other elements in a large theatre of military operation or war or of the Armed Forces of the country.
The President of the country, without holding any active military appointment, is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces because it is he who is the only authorized person who can declare war against any other country or aggressor and order the Armed Forces of the country to march against the aggressor.
There are century-old institutions that are still there to monitor and operate as the check and balance against any undesirable movement of the Armed Forces. In Bangladesh it seems that no body bothers even to read these well-drafted Rules and Regulations, pamphlets/booklets on custom of service and etiquette etc. No wonder in 1982, the Ministry of Defense published/reprinted a military law book amazingly with the title: The Manual of Bangladesh Army Law. There is nothing called Army Law but Military Law and of course, the Army Act is there within the military law. And military law is a part and parcel of the prevailing laws of the country, duly approved by the parliament of the country.
Hardly any Cantonment has got any Master Plan; yet millions of takas have been spent from the development budget of MoD/Armed Forces. Over 80% of defense budget is spent on pay and allowances and non-productive areas, hardly 4.0-5.0 per cent is spent on arms ammunition and equipment and these is no budget for Research and Development (R&D). The present-day unimaginative budget itself is good enough to make Armed Forces anything but a professional one. At present, the like the offices of Director General Medical Services and, to a great extent, DGDP, the office of the Engineering in Chief (E in C) dignified staff only as in most respects MoD is almost non-existent.
The promotions in the Armed Forces are based on command structure of the Armed Forces. Since the Army Chief is a four-star General, the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (DCAS) could be a Lt. Gen/three-star general or even four-star general. There could be two DCAS - one for training and one for administration. When Gen. Zia was the DCAS, hardly any file used to go to him. The strength of the Bangladesh Army dictates that there could be three corps which means logically posts of three Lieutenant Generals do exist in the Bangladesh Army. Along with that command channel, the Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) in the AHQ could also be Lieutenant Generals. But without a command structure, how people could be promoted to the rank of a Lieutenant General.
The ad-hoc arrangement in the military higher command echelon, introduced during Zia's period particularly with the creation of Supreme Commander's HQ (now AFD), undermined ultimately the posts of the three services Chiefs of Staff, particularly the CAS, Bangladesh Army as a dignified and trust worthy appointment, duly approved by the Cabinet (the only appointment that is normally endorsed by the Cabinet). If the then Govt. was suspicious of Gen. Ershad, then why Zia's Govt. made him the CAS, Bangladesh Army.
There are DGFI, NSI, SB/Police, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defense/MOD and if all these, government apparatuses can not monitor then, why one should keep all these organizations as ears and eyes of the establishment/Govt. Duplication of responsibility is an immature thinking process and a dangerous process, as it amounts to NO COMMAND.
The two of the best known Presidents of this country were murdered almost in broad day-light and apparently Intelligence Branches and all other Govt. machinery had no clue about the coup. So is the case with the recent BDR carnage in Peelkhana. Regarding the clue of the Bangabandhu murder case, our Intelligence Branches, including media, occasionally quote CIA reports. Sitting in Dhaka city, our Intelligence Branches had no knowledge and now after 35 years are asking people to get authentic information from the sources who observed the incident with telescope, if not satellite, which are bound to be misleading. Our country very badly needs to have authentic intelligence networking, duly developed by the qualified patriotic professionals and not by relatives, party men or 'my men-types'. All successive Governments made Intelligence Branches almost non professional by employing not only non-qualified officials but also sycophants only. Creating a Rasputin or a monster is easy but its characteristic is such that it ultimately swallows its own mentor/creator. The Bangladeshis are no exception.
In the power struggle after Aug 15, 1975, Col Taher with all his goodwill wanted to use Zia and his image for his political end. Zia at the crucial moment got the required help from Col Taher but ultimately sent him to the gallows. Col Taher met the tragic end, like that of the heroes of French Revolution. Zia wanted to use Ershad temporarily as a stop-gap, but Ershad used all the privileges offered by Zia very effectively and masterly ensured Zia's berth in a posh grave/ mausoleum (Ershad claims that it was done by Gen. Manzur).
Immediately after the murder of Zia, Ershad, with sobbing eyes, offered Begum Zia the DCAS's house as a gift. A strategist, Ershad proved that he was a better chess player than a football player. The land belongs to MoD and on behalf of the MoD, the MEO under the DML and CA is the custodian of the land; yet General Ershad manipulated and managed to transfer the house to Begum Zia, just to have a control over her in due course of time if she wanted to unearth the murder cases of Zia and Manzur or challenging him and his leadership by entering into open politics. Ershad wanted that in course of time to take over the BNP, a readymade political party with most of its so-called leaders already in line with him.
President Zia -- a valiant freedom fighter, materially an honest person having an outstanding leadership qualities and a patriot of the highest order -- came into power through a quasi military force backed by the Gono Bahini of Col Taher/ Jatiyo Sangstratic Dal (JSD). He appeared in the political field as the leader of the nationalistic force. Gen. Ershad, materially and morally a sheer manipulator, believes in gains above every thing else, captured state power by flexing muscle of the Armed Forces, thereby making Armed Forces a reckonable force in the political horizon of Bangladesh.
Taking over the legacy of the President Zia -- who knowingly or may be unknowingly -- polluted national politics to a great extent, Ershad started twisting and sharpening it further and was gradually able to destroy/damage the moral fabric of the country. But he ran the country cleverly and efficiently. Gen. Ershad knows the art of keeping the hen alive yet gets the golden eggs one by one. The present-generation leaders slaughter the hen to get all the eggs in one go and within the tenure.
Prior to taking over the state power, Gen. Ershad very loudly claimed that the Armed Forces, being the direct product of the War of Liberation, must share state power. He sounded like what is described in the Turkey's constitution. Ershad perhaps wanted to give lip service only to this concept as long as he was the CAS, Bangladesh Army. Ershad and his accomplices did not take part in the War of Liberation '71, yet wanted to take the honey out of war booties.
The military personnel who defected from the erstwhile Pak Armed Forces, fought the War of Liberation '71, along with the common people of the country, under the command of the exile govt. of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and upheld their complete allegiance to the elected exile govt., primarily to protect and restore the fun damental rights of the people of Bangladesh and to achieve the independence of the nation by maintaining the democratic process in tact.
It was the democratic spirit against military rule that was the moving force during the War of Liberation 1971. But Ershad was virtually dishonoring the Freedom Fighters (FFs) and their spirit by saying that Armed Forces were a product of Liberation War and must share political power. For making such a statement -- clearly violating the established military rules -- President Satter issued the dismissal order to Gen. Ershad. But it is said that President Satter's own Military Secretary, Defense Secretary and most of his so-called influential cabinet colleagues who were otherwise 'political touts', did not cooperate with him. Instead, they informed Ershad and allowed him to come over to Bangabhaban immediately to take over the state power.
In the process, the Armed Forces, as an institution, suffered a lot. People carried a long struggle against the military rule and finally dislodged him. Thereafter, all successive Governments started taking protective measures and in most cases, were trying to size up the Armed Forces. The latter, being the most modernizing agent of the society, were increasingly becoming the most important and likely contestant to become the Head of Govt., if not Head of the State.
The Caretaker Govt. concept has been polluting further the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The system should be abolished forthwith. The Peelkhana carnage is not an isolated incident but a planned conspiracy, probably hatched at home and abroad with a grudging attitude to undermine the security capability of Bangladesh and to hamper its capacity building process.
Politics is not the cup of tea for the Armed Forces. They remain efficient within the cantonments and battle fields and occasional disaster management operations. They are supposed to guard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. To perform their constitutional duties, they need to undertake all types of vigorous hard training for almost 24 hours. Playing golf, is not enough. Attending PT in the morning and every week, besides 25 mile-route march, running nine miles with 08 pack on the shoulder along with the rifle, are a must. So is also the carring out of annual collective training (minimum continuously two months) including Inter Services field- and sea-level exercises at the grass roots and higher command level training exercises round the year. The Armed Forces must not be used for any other jobs than the prescribed military/professional jobs.
The accumulated anomalies in the Armed Forces have been nourished by almost all of us, deliberately and vigorously, mostly due to lack of comprehensive knowledge in running the statecraft. Ultimately in democratic Bangladesh, a serving CAS became senior to Secretary and equivalent to the Cabinet Secretary, in rank and status. The CAS is not under the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence! Even the PSO of the Armed Forces Division enjoys the status of the Secretary of Ministry of Defense! If it is so, then the Ministry of Defense virtually has got no job to perform and should be abolished. The Secretary of the MoD cannot share his responsibilities with a subordinate who is supposed to be under him. Similarly, on paper the CAS enjoys the above-Secretary status. It means the rank and status above those of the Defence Secretary, yet on ground, as and when needed, the CAS is indirectly under the control of the PSO, Armed Forces Division. The services of the PSO of the Armed Forces Division is governed by Army Act/respective services act, where the CAS is the main authority, as operational responsibility of running the Army is vested with the CAS.
In Bangladesh, since the liberation, perhaps because of past legacy, almost all democratic Governments have been remained mentally worried about how to stop Martial Law (ML) taking place. The President of the country can place an area under Martial Law by calling the military and order the military forces to administer civil administration of the area. Any other person including the CAS/C-in-C doing so is illegal and punishable under the existing Army Act/ military law, as it amounts to mutiny. Yet the Martial Law rule, with or without the consent of the President, was experienced by the country off and on, because of activities carried out by the elected governments, beyond their constitutional limit -- some times very nakedly and so nakedly that made people to bewilder. That paved the way for ML rule. 1/11 -- though is not a ML rule as such -- is a vivid example of the recent past. General people rendered overwhelming support to the military-backed caretaker govt. Even some political parties extended support. However, it has generally been observed that ultimately any ad-hoc govt., normally fails to deliver goods, in spite of dazzling beginning, because lack of public touch and broad-based support and well-laid foundation and, above all, lack of human touch. It is bad governance which is the root cause of all these anomalies, resulting in terrible frustrations and creation of a chaotic environment in the country. We have to revert to 1972-73 Constitution. Taking it as the base line, we are to restart our political process, cultivating democratic values which we have been cherishing for centuries. It is through a sustainable democratic system with perseverance that we are to run the country so that we make sustainable and steady progress step by step.
Govt. is a large corporate body. It should behave like so. All organizations are to be run professionally and judiciously. So are the Armed Forces to be commanded by the professional soldiers and fearlessly discharge their sacred responsibilities as prescribed by the established relevant rules and regulation. Otherwise, we will waste our time in experimenting and jumping from one crisis to another deeper one, creating further confusion and chaos.
This is an abridged version of a write-up sent by the writer, to the FE for publication on the occasion of the Victory Day. The writer is a Major General (Al Nu'man, psc) and a former Ambassador. He can be reached at e-mail: sejdach@gmail.com