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FOREIGN MILITARY INTERVENTION LIKELY?
Intelligence failure caused BDR disaster
M. Shahidul Islam
Every crisis must traverse a slotted path to come to its end. The BDR mutiny of February 25 was just the beginning of a major crisis that has long way to cross the finishing line.
That is why the carnage and the genocide of February 25 have begun to alter the internal political dynamics of the country while the prospect of foreign military intervention remains as vibrant as it was on February 25.
Threat to sovereignty
The Hindustan Times reported on March 2 that the crisis in Bangladesh had put on alert the armed forces of India who remain stand by for what they said 'humanitarian intervention' inside Bangladesh.
The paper claimed, since the day of the BDR mutiny,�Indian Air Force (IAF) transport bases - equipped with IL-76 heavy-lift and AN-32 medium-lift aircrafts- were asked to stay prepared to assist the Bangladesh government, if requested by Dhaka. Quoting an unnamed senior IAF officer, the paper claimed that the largest Indian airbase located in Jorhat, Assam, - which is also the closest one to Bangladesh- stands ready to conduct such a mission.
The Indian readiness to intervene was reinforced further by another statement made on March 4 in Hyderabad by the Director General of the BSF, M L Kumawat. "After this crisis in Bangladesh, we have given direction to all our troops and personnel deployed on Indo-Bangladesh border to remain on high alert," he said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also said on March 3 in a local seminar that the "Conspiracies against Bangladesh are not over yet...There is still a plot to foil the country's democracy, independence and sovereignty," she said, adding, "My own safety is at risk."
Yet, the squabbling between the government and the opposition continues in disregard to a host of impending internal and external threats to the country's stability and the sovereignty. The internal political ambiance has been sharply polarized since the Prime Minister pointed a finger of suspicion toward the opposition leaders for the BDR carnage in the parliament, resulting in the opposition leaders to be more aggressive in blaming the government for the tragedy and its handling.
Meanwhile, the victims - the military officers, their families, colleagues in the service and outside - kept blaming the higher command of the military for its failure to launch a rescue mission soon after the massacre began. The higher command, on the other hand, keeps making excuses that it had no order to intervene militarily to subdue the mutineers despite there being a quickly- organized- preparedness to do so.
Crisis mishandled
The pain is made more unbearable when certain facts are made known. For example, observers were awestruck at the PM's disclosure that the assassinated Director General (DG) of the BDR, Maj. Gen. Shakil Ahmed, had called her from his cell phone upon being shot at and requested for help. Although the PM had called the army chief instantly who is learnt to have said, "The military needs an hour and a half, or two, to launch an appropriate mission," no further instruction came from the political leadership to enter the BDR compound during the more than 30 hours long stand off in order to see where thousands of bullets were being fired, and, at who.
The military mission thus aborted, a visibly uncoordinated political mission kept the crisis prolonged for nearly 40 hours. During that time, none had the clue that one of the most heinous carnages of history had occurred within the Pilkhana BDR compound, at a time when the Prime Minister declared a general amnesty to the mutineers and sent her political colleagues to talk to the rebel soldiers inside the BDR head quarters without ensuring first the safety of the entrapped officers and their family members.
Consequently, serious uproars are being raised about the failure of the PM to order the launching of a rescue mission and the absence of pressure for the release of the hostages first, unharmed, as a precondition to the declared amnesty. Besides, the PM, as the country's defence minister, failed to gather enough intelligence to know the true extent of the killings that were going inside the BDR head quarters.
Also surprising is the fact that the PM allowed an MP of the ruling party to launch a publicity campaign to clear the three miles radius of the BDR headquarters, which has further facilitated the fleeing of the murderers from the spot.
A Horrendous discovery
All that being part of history now, one wonders how it all happened, who did it, and why?
While that is precisely the undertaking of the investigators who will unearth the real intent of the carnage and identify the culprits, the incident demonstrates a serious lapse in military intelligence. The following facts, gathered from over a dozen of reliable sources, further corroborate that fact.
One: Investigators have learnt that a team of 25 trained foreign commandos entered Bangladesh illegally from India through various bordering areas on or within January 11, 2009. They were received and sheltered in Dhaka by individuals working under cover as diplomats.
Two: At the same time, a small group of 10-12 BDR members, including two Deputy Assistant Directors (DADs), were recruited as the internal moles and coordinators to provide precise information to the foreign team via three senior political leaders of the country until the hours of the carnage.
Three: The occasion for the operation was chosen carefully to ensure availability of all senior BDR officers who had gathered in Pilkhana for the annual BDR day celebration. Over 3,000 extra troops also came to Pilkhana for various administrative duties as well as to launch a tattoo show for which the BDR has been historically famous.
Four: The mutiny was slated for February 24, while the PM was in Pilkhana to take salute in the BDR day parade. In consideration of likely collateral harm to the political personalities and other dignitaries who accompanied the PM, the date was changed. However, final coordination and reconnaissance were done that day by some guests who attended the parade, masquerading as VIPs.
Five: Upon conclusion of final reconnaissance, at about 10.30 PM, on February 24, a segment of the foreign killing squad and over 25 BDR soldiers - plus three young - leading politicians of the country - met in a briefing in one of suburban Dhaka residences. The precise timing of the operation and the responsibilities of each small group were decided in that meeting.
Six: As per plan, one of the DADs ensured that members of the BDR cell would be posted on duty on gate number 4 that morning when the DG would sit for the slated Darbar in the Darbar hall.
Seven: On February 25, the D-day, the foreign commando team entered the Pilkhana compound through gate number 4, at 8.10 AM, using a BDR vehicle (Bedford) which the designated DAD had arranged to send for them about an hour ago. Dressed in sports gear (long camouflage trouser, vest, and PT shoe) - in order to be able to quickly change into civil clothes while fleeing after the massacre - the killers entered the Pilkhana compound undetected.
Eight: The BDR vehicle that carried the killers was followed by an ash-colour pick up van which carried initially used arms and ammunition from outside. In order to begin the massacre, one of the Bengali speaking commandos, armed, was ordered to enter the Darbar hall without permission to engage the DG into a provoking altercation.
Nine: Once the DG was shot, other officers, all unarmed, tried to obstruct the lone killer. Within seconds, the action group of the killer team entered the Darbar hall and started killing other officers while the cover up group cordoned the area.
Ten: In the following hours, part B of the mission began by inducting other troops into the team under gun point and the armoury - as well as the intelligence equipments - was looted. The foreign killers and their local henchmen used BDR soldiers on gunpoint to show the locations of other officers, their families, and the offices where vital national security documents remained preserved. Highly classified border security maps, troop deployment plan and initial action plan, etc. were taken away by the foreign commandos.
Eleven: Eyewitnesses say, two of the last foreign commandos - one male and one female - left the BDR compound in the afternoon on February 26, following the surrendering of arms by BDR members who knew nothing about the mutiny even a minute before. These two are presumed to be the leaders of the foreign commando team.
None of the above could have been materialized if the two main national intelligence outfits of the country (DGFI and NSI) have had prior clues about what was being conspired to destroy the armed forces of the country. The foreign commandos took control of BDR's own intelligence outfit, RSU, at the initial stage and used RSU equipments to communicate among themselves during the mutiny. The commanding officer of RSU too was assassinated during the carnage.
That aside, there were other intelligence lapses during the mutiny. In the more than 30 hours while the mutiny prolonged, neither the NSI, nor the DGFI, had any clue about who were being shot at and what exactly went on inside. They also ignored SMS messages from fellow officers, on ground that there was no order from the government to do anything.
In reality, these two agencies were too busy, as they often are, in ensuring security to the VVIPs and VIPs; not the country and its vital institutions that they are oath-bound and mandated to serve and protect.
Failure of security
This horrendous lack of intelligence also led to the absence of any special security being arranged at the venue of the DG's Darbar from where the carnage began and spread, despite Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) dictating military commanders to post armed sentry around any gathering of troops or officers, in peace and in war.
As such, the entire security of the day was as usual; the main gates manned by regimental guards, and, gate number four manned by soldiers from that tiny cell created by the two alleged DADs, indoctrinated to be part of a mutiny that tried to rid the BDR of its military command for ever.
Now that the threats to the nation's sovereignty has exacerbated following this tragedy, the wishes of the foreign powers and their henchmen must be thwarted at any cost.
In order to do that, the political leadership and the armed forces must ensure that innocent BDR members do not face any persecutions while the force itself may be renamed as Border Guards Regiment (BGR) and its command may be vested to a newly created Para-Military Division (PMD) within the Armed Forces Division (AFD) of the ministry of defence.
That having done, all eligible BGR members must be sent to the country's borders to uphold the nation's sovereignty at any cost, with a renewed sense of dedication and determination. It's time for the nation to prove: greater the challenge, more determined we are.
Hafiz Shamsheer
Already 10 days into the nation's gravest crisis, the gloom of the 25 February's senseless holocaust continues to drape the nation. The air is still stuffed with the stench of the bodies of those felled by rebellious bullets. The atmosphere still reverberates with the wails and weeps of wives, sons, daughters, parents and kinsmen who lost their loved ones.
The solitary saving grace is that the toll of total death is slightly less than was feared. A total of 58 persons have been identified and buried. Only six officers, not 72, are still rated as missing. It is however suspected that they could be among the bodies still to be identified. Military authorities have invited their family members to report for DNA tests.
Luck however cruelly favoured those who found mutilated bodies of their beloved dumped in mass graves after the rebels had gunned them dead. Home they took their warriors dead. But there were also those who had no such cruel luck at all because their bodies had been too much mutilated or not been found. Grief and bereavement were their only solace, the inverted solace. For them as well as the nation, the world will never be the same again.
But the commiseration is just not confined to the families of the dead. It has gone well beyond them to encompass the entire national canvas. The country has lost some of its brilliant officers. They were simply jewels, widely described by their colleagues and friends alike as the brightest of the bright. The bereavement for them is universal. It will take quiet some years, may be more than a decade, to recompense the loss.
What fault did they do? What offence did they do for which even families of some of them were not spared? What sin did they commit that provoked the murderers to push them into the abattoir? There is no convincing answer yet. But there will be. That is the hope.
Two separate committees have however been formed to plumb the depth of the 25/2 hecatomb. Perhaps their efforts will help some truth to emerge sooner or later. The military committee headed by Lt General Jahangir Alam Choudhury seems more apposite and professional in its task. Question mark remains on the other committee, the civilian committee if you like, headed by Anisuzzaman Khan, a former secretary. It replaced the one that Home Minister Sahara Khatun had set up with herself as its chairman. One anticipates that the revamped committee will stay free from any kind of political influence.
But can it? Firstly, Anisuzzaman Khan was never known to be a happy-go-lucky officer, though he was a brilliant student. He resigned from the government job to take up another career in the GEC with much fatter perquisite. One hopes at least he will prove himself a different kettle of fish. Influence peddling has done a lot of harm to this country in the past. Let it not be so this time around when the very foundation of this nation is terribly shaken.
The unfortunate part of the story is that the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina is trying to politically cash in on the tragedy. Her first attempt is focused on getting rid of her potential political adversaries, rather than getting to the bottom of those responsible for nation's worst massacre. Should she succeed, her promised untrammelled rule until 2021 could be guaranteed.
She has already spurned taking the entire nation into confidence, bragging that her government is good enough to handle the crisis. She has scoffed at the widely counselled views that the opposition parties be made privy to the campaign for stamping out rebellion. She couldn't care less for a national consensus because such unity is not commensurate with her scheme of things.
It is no invitation for wedding, she glibly mocked. This is certainly not a dignified comment by an honourable and dignified prime minister. It can at best suit a party scalawag.
With the committees currently in action, the cognoscenti are wondering why this cataract of disaster fell on this country on 25 February. Theories and conjectures are still flying around.
By law, the border force's leadership is made up of army officers. Some mutineers said they waged the rebellion out of long-simmering resentment toward the officers, who receive higher pay and more perks.
Such logic is untenable in that this couldn't be an excuse for killing the whole lot of them. And the army involvement in the border force structure is not a new phenomenon; it has been the tradition for last 200 years.
But this is a subject worth looking at. Who are the people within the BDR to make these demands? Were they genuinely BDR personnel or those unknown elements with faces covered with red handkerchiefs that did the major shootings? If they are fake, how come they found their way inside the headquarters compound with automatic weapons? Who helped them? Why Jahangir Kabir Nanak, a former student leader and now a state minister in the present government, was chosen to negotiate with the rebels. What was his locus standi? How was it that the Indian media was much faster than the Bangladeshi reporters covering the incident? How was it that NDTV and Doordarshan disseminated the killing of Major General Shakil Ahmed at a time when nobody in this country had the foggiest of knowledge?
These are the few of the umpteen questions the committees must address if they genuinely want to unravel the mystery.
Special Correspondent
More facts are coming out every day revealing the failures of our intelligence agencies in connection with the carnage of February 25 - 26 at the BDR headquarters in the capital of Bangladesh.
Interestingly, the chief of Military Intelligence (MI) appeared before the media without telling anything about why their men failed in tracing anything ahead of the massacre.
The MI always remains vigil on the institution like BDR which is commanded by the army officials. DGFI also does the same as it is responsible to ensure the safety and security of the head of state and the prime minister.
It is a big question as to why DGFI, MI, NSI and Special Branch (SB) of the Police have failed to guess such a pre-planned violence where a large number of people were involved.
Criminal experts said, involvement of more then 10 people in planning a big crime is considered to be a risky adventure because of the change in leakage of information beforehand.
The BDR headquarters was definitely a place of intense security vigilance especially after it was decided to be the venue for Prime Minister's visit on the occasion of BDR week.
Set rules of security
The security agencies worldwide follow certain set routine rules to secure the VIPs on important occasions and events involving the armed forces. They do keep in mind the incidents of assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the parade ground and the attack on Indian Prime Minister Rajib Gandhi in a parade in Sri lanka.
Prior to the BDR carnage, a section of the media were reporting on the renewed activities of the JMB on the basis of information leaked by some intelligence agencies.
Agencies couldn't pre-empt
Some newspaper also reported that the reason for shifting of Prime Minister's family to the state guest house Jamuna at Hare Road from Sudha Sadhan at Dhanmondi was security concern related to fundamentalists' activities. But the intelligence agencies could not pre-empt the big attack at BDR headquarters, only few hundred yards away from Sudha Sadan.
After the new Government was installed, the massive changes took place in DGFI. The change in guards also may be a reason for the lapses in security vigilance, the experts say.
Peelkhana Massacre: Viewed from Dhaka Cantonment
Sadeq Khan
On the 25th of February, at Dhaka Peelkhana behind the barred gates of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters, a massacre took place in broad daylight. It was a planned massacre of the commanders of the BDR gathered at the headquarters, unarmed, for an annual ceremonial Darbar (general meeting of BDR members).
The public was only aware of grievous troubles accompanied by sporadic firing by trigger-happy BDR men gone haywire within BDR compounds. Stray bullets and splinters wounded pedestrians and some people in the vicinity, killing one. The Prime Minister reported later to the Parliament (and also to a Darbar at the army headquarters) that she was apprised at around 9.30 a.m. that day of the danger to the lives of the commanding officers of the BDR. She was contacted on telephone by the besieged Director General himself who was still alive at that time.
It appears she was advised by her confidants to try to quell the armed mutiny (against commanders but not against the ruling cabinet, her confidants presumed) by friendly persuasion, opening a channel for collective bargaining by mutineers. As Defence Minister, she was concerned about the chain of command and discipline of the armed services of the State, and as Prime Minister, she virtually commanded the military machine of the state by executive authority as well as by binding advice to the Supreme Commander and President of the Republic.
But as political leader and head of government, she thought it fit to assign to Sahara Khatun, the Home Minister who administered the BDR, to take charge of the situation. She also sent her LGRD state minister Nanak to Peelkhana to establish direct contact with the mutineers.
On Feb 26th The Economist print edition of U.K. reported: "Mutiny in Bangladesh".
The report said: "Only two months after a return to democratic rule, Bangladesh's new government faces its toughest test yet. On February 25th the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a 45,000-strong paramilitary force, primarily responsible for guarding the country's borders, staged an armed mutiny. The renegade troops took 100 hostages and killed their commanding officer and many others. The Army moved in to quell the mutiny. There ensued a 20-hour siege of the BDR's headquarters that left perhaps 50 people dead and turned a posh residential area of Dhaka into a battle-zone.
"Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister, offered an amnesty and in response the mutineers began to surrender. But the next day the rebellion rekindled and spread to a dozen other towns across the country."
As The Economist said, "There were reports that the Army was taking control of BDR border posts and tanks were approaching BDR headquarters in Dhaka. The Government has agreed to consider the mutineers' demands for better conditions. Another grievance is believed to be the BDR's exclusion from lucrative UN peacekeeping missions. The crisis will strain the army's relations with the new government, led by Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, which won a huge parliamentary majority in an election in December. Since then, Sheikh Hasina has moved swiftly to limit the army's role. However, with many of its officers among the dead, the army might resist the amnesty and push for the legal penalty for mutiny: death by hanging."
Army officers in Dhaka Cantonment and in other command zones throughout the country were indeed very very angry, but remained disciplined.
The media in Bangladesh was carried away by the sob stories of the mutineers, the injustice of their service conditions. The mutineers met the press at the gates of Peelkhana BDR headquarters with face partly covered with red scarves, or called pressmen in for interviews. They called their commanding officers thieves who profited from Dal bhat operations (a temporary fair price shops chain run by BDR during the market crisis in 2008).
"The army officers, called in to stand by around Peelkhana and in their posts elsewhere, fumed as they considered the media misrepresentation of the mutiny and the time-killing in the name of peaceful persuasion of mutineers to lay down their arms would in reality allow the armed rebels to carry out cold-blooded massacre of prized army officers, do the needful to hide the bodies and other clues of the conspiracy, and escape.
That is what actually happened in what was termed a political resolution of the crisis. The army officers obeyed and stayed aloof, but were able to prevail on their defence minister to reconsider the amnesty declared in the political handling process of the crisis and the Prime Minister annulled the amnesty post-facto after the revelation of the extent of massacre and other vile crimes committed by the mutineers.
Frantic e-mails, however, continued to be sent out by armed forces officers, to retired armed services personnel linked with the media and the civil society, to tell media personnel and talk-show celebrities to stop spreading canards against the Army at the behest of the mutineers.
I quote one such e-mail:
"Take the salute of Bangladesh Army. We feel aggrieved how easily you were bluffed about what happened at Peelkhana by the so called cause of the BDR jawans on 25th February 2009. This is what really happened:
"On 25 February, the mutiny at Peelkhana is reported to the Prime Minister's office by direct phone call around 9.30 a.m. An S.O.S was communicated to the Government for rescue by the officers in peril, who await army help.
RAB arrives at Peelkhana gate at about 10 a.m. and ready to move in. Home Ministry said a stubborn "No".
Troops of Mirpur Cantt and Dhaka Cantt arrive at Peelkhana by 11:30 a.m. they seek permission to go in. Again a big "No".
Innocent media people, bluffed by the BDR jawans, focus to the nation the "right cause" of rebellious BDR who ask for BCS officers.....!!!"
The e-mail reads: "The Govt sends Nanok and others and they enter "courageously" into BDR Peelkhana. They are confident that they may safely come back and they will not be not hold hostage."
At 4:30 pm, army tanks are ready to go in, briefing done. Again a big "No". The army is told to go 3 km away from Peelkhana."
Night comes. Sahara and Nanok enter BDR and all lights are off. Sahara visits families of army officers without Nanok as seen on TV channels through BTV footage. She DOES NOT meet any (captive) army officer of BDR."
Media people telecast live sound of firing from inside Peelkhana when Sahara is inside."
According to the e-mail, "Sahara Khatun comes out and faces the media. Some channel representative asks her, 'When you were inside, we heard the sound of gunfire. Did you hear it?' She says, 'No. I did not hear any firing'. Sahara did not mention anything about the 168 officers inside, nor the media men asked her where the officers were."
The e-mail further reads, "THIS WAS BECAUSE AT THAT TIME B.D.R. WAS COMPLETING THE TOTAL KILLING OF OFFICERS STILL ALIVE AND HARASSING THIER FAMILIES UNDER THE EYES OF NANOK; AND MASS GRAVES WERE BEING PREPARED. Please refer to the NTV exclusive with Major Mokarram on 28th evening. He said that he heard the voice of Home Minister entering into the kote (armoury) when she was surrounded by BDR gunmen."
IG of Police freely moved in because his daughter and son -in-law Haider were kept (later found killed) inside. He ensures the rescue of his daughter, married 82 days earlier."
Only police personnel were allowed to enter Peelkhana and throughout the night they find only 7 dead bodies and suggest that search could not be done due to darkness."
The e-mail adds, "NON-MILITARY AMBULANCES ENTER AND LEAVE PEELKHANA A NUMBER OF TIMES AND TAKE AWAY SO MANY DEAD BODIES..... BUT THE TOTAL STILL REMAINS 7. Only 5-7 other bodies appear from canal behind BDR, naturally coming out under drainage pressure. ABOUT 32 KILLERS WERE TAKEN AWAY BY THOSE AMBULANCES WITHOUT TAKING OUT ANY OF THE HOSTAGES.
Next morning on 26 February there is no sign of bodies. Bodies and mass graves are discovered after army and fire brigade (fire brigade boss is a brigadier of army) enter into Peelkhana late in the morning.
Size and depth of mass graves indicate that killers used the whole night to dig those and also to FLY AWAY from PEELKHANA. Only about 200 fools of BDR were left at Peelkhana when the Army was allowed to move in.
Nanok in a media briefing in front of Peelkhana declares that "It was a big conspiracy and crores of Takas were distributed in Peelkhana." DEAR MEDIA, HE WAS RIGHT. BECAUSE (allegedly) EACH DAD (Deputy Asst Director, junior officer of BDR) WORKING AT PEELKHANA GOT TK 25 LAC between 22 and 24th February, distributed by Nanok's men.
"You see how brutally the representative of Bangladeshi people, elected just 50 days back-Sahara, Nanok, Mirza Azam and Jalil.....all of them ensured that your officers and their families, the officers of Bangladeshi people, are killed and molested (the e-mail said).
"Only about 37 or 57 officers were killed in our War of Liberation 1971 by Pakistanis in 9 months. It is now clear that Nanok and DAD Tauheed had been communicating with each other for last one month plus. Home Minister and Nanok arranged the safe exit of the rebel BDR troops from Peelkhana throughout the night," the e-mail alleged.
"Bangladesh Army was not allowed to fire on the plea that 'peaceful negotiation' was going on. If Army troops were allowed to enter Peelkhana even at 4 pm on 25th February, we could save many innocent lives. The people from the area/village of the dead officers will all testify that those were our golden sons of the soil. They did prove it in UN missions. That is why Bangladesh is the largest troops contributing country to UN. It is not India, Pakistan, US or Canada.
We are not asking you to believe this email. We are requesting you to use you judgement."
"The army officers, however, obeyed their superiors and heard their defence minister when she addressed them in Dhaka Cantonment. But the continuing saga of the Peelkhana tragedy is having repercussions which we intend to follow up in the next issue."
Aftershock marred by contradictions, confusion
Special Correspondent
The nation is passing a crucial time and is yet to recover from the aftershock of the Peelkhana killings. However, contradictory statements are being made and confusing information is being aired when different probe bodies started to find the causes of the massacre at BDR Headquarters.
In its effort to restore command and reorganize the border guarding force, the government has already appointed a new Director General (DG) for BDR and got back more than five thousand BDR personnel who fled away following the mutiny of February 25-26.
On Saturday last week, as emotions ran high among the ranks after the massacre by the mutineers, the military intelligence chief Brig Gen Mahmud Hossain said 72 were still missing, 63 were dead and 33 officers were found alive.
Just two days later, the army's chief of general staff lieutenant general Sina Ibne Jamali released names of the seven missing officers to reporters at a briefing Monday.
The government has taken the initiative to identify the remaining five bodies through DNA tests.
After the first round of talks with the rebels on Feb 25, prime minister Sheikh Hasina offered a general amnesty to the BDR mutineers, but later said the pardon would not cover those who directly killed, looted or committed such other criminal offences.
Under pressure from the members of the armed forces, the government had to reconstitute the committee to investigate the rebellion of soldiers in the BDR headquarters. The home minister, Sahara Khatun, has been replaced as the committee head with a retired secretary, Anisuzzaman Khan, for an independent investigation of the rebellion.
The government further decided to hold speedy trial of the people involved in the killing of the army officers. It is also planning amendments to laws to set up a special tribunal to try the perpetrators.
Army also formed its own investigation team led by Lt Gen Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, a former BDR chief, to investigate the Peelkhana killings.
In the mean time, US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has agreed to help Bangladesh in forensic investigation into the BDR carnage. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought the FBI assistance during telephone conversation with US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher on March 1. Boucher spoke on behalf of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and offered the US assistance.
Arrest and recovery
Meanwhile, Towhidul Alam, Deputy Assistant Director of the BDR, the prime suspect, has been taken into custody along with four other co-conspirators.
DAD Towhid led a team of 14 BDR men to talks with the Prime Minister at her Jamuna house on the day the border guards rose in rebellion at their headquarters in the capital.
Towhid also led the renegade BDR men in negotiations that followed with the home minister late into the night. A lot of confusion is being created with Tawhid regarding his arrest and his relations with a government negotiator.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led main opposition in parliament on Wednesday said 'contradictory' statements of the prime minister and the Rapid Action Battalion about the arrest of Bangladesh Rifles' deputy assistant director Tawhidul Alam had raised doubt whether the probes into the massacre at the BDR headquarters would be neutral.
'The prime minister on Sunday said in the house that BDR's DAD Towhid had been arrested and the RAB on Tuesday said that they had arrested Towhid Tuesday afternoon. The contradictory statements have raised doubt whether there will be a neutral investigation into the carnage at the BDR headquarters,' opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque said at a briefing at Wednesday evening.
Last week, operation rebel hunt was launched with the countrywide deployment of army troop to capture the rebels still in hiding. The operation is also aimed at recovering firearms missing from the BDR headquarters. ��The search teams, led by army, seized a huge quantity of arms and ammunition left abandoned by the rebels who looted the armouries in the BDR headquarters
The new DG of Bangladesh Rifles, Brigadier General Md Moinul Islam, on Wednesday said they had not yet found any important documents of the border guards missing. When asked exactly how many weapons were lost or how many BDR personnel were inside the headquarters on the day the rebellion broke out, he said, 'We will be able to give a clear picture after discipline in the headquarters are restored completely.'
It is gathered that round 6000 BDR troopers have been kept inside the BDR camp and of them 5000 have reported to the authorities, following the government announcement three days after the carnage at the BDR headquarters on February 25.
According to the organogram, there are a total of 44,004 personnel in the Bangladesh Rifles, including 446 officials of which 386 officers are deputed from the army. About six thousand troops were present at Peelkhana Headquarters in the annual programme of BDR week. The Prime Minister attended the annual BDR parade at Peelkhana on February 23.
Outside instigations
The Prime Minister told parliament Sunday that the BDR revolt was a "completely pre-planned massacre". Her alliance partner HM Ershad, however, advised the Prime minister to step carefully as the rebellion was raised at the instigation of outside forces to weaken the country turning it into a nonviable and failed state.
Terming the incident a conspiracy to weaken our defence forces, political parties and various socio-cultural organisations called for proper investigation into the massacre at BDR headquarters to find out the masterminds behind the mutiny.
Meanwhile, seizure of various firearms and equipment on BDR Headquarters premises confused the army personnel and other investigators of the assassination of military officers.
Recovery of two binoculars and the belts of SMGs confuses the army and others investigators as these are used neither by the Bangladesh Army and BDR nor by any other government agencies.
Another mystery over the presence of two foreign nationals, a female and a male, inside the BDR headquarters was yet to be unfolded. Video footage of the mutiny by the country's border guards shows "outsiders wearing BDR uniform", a senior army official has alleged.
The new BDR chief brigadier general Mohammed Mainul Islam referred to "unknown people" who did not belong to the force, while talking to reporters on Tuesday, reinforcing the government charge of "a conspiracy by outside forces".
Investigators are also looking for the clue and establish links to the recovery of toy-pistols, presence of a suspected ash-colour pick-up van, the leaflets distributed during the rebellion and the mobile telephone communication of the suspected rebels.
Indian response
India has airlifted "elements'' of its para-brigade based in Agra to Kalaikunda in West Bengal to deal with any contingency which arises due to the internal turmoil in Bangladesh.
"Depending on the situation, more could follow. With Bangladesh army progressively taking over from the paramilitary BDR in posts along the Indo-Bangladesh border, it's a precautionary move,'' an Indian daily reported quoting an Indian source.
Instantly, India border security forces (BSF) took a red alert preparation along Bangladesh border and even tried to launch offensives at Kulaura and Dinajpur borders. The courageous BDR forces repulsed the offensive and forced BSF to stop earth work within 30 yards of the border line at Shankarpur border in Dinajpur and also forced to abandon the construction of a border outpost within 12 yards of Sharifpur border in Kulaura.
Indian media was the first to report the killing of BDR chief and 12 other senior officers within few hours of the rebellion. Indian media quoting official sources said over a battalion strength (over 1,000 soldiers) of the 50 Independent Parachute Brigade was moved on Sunday from Agra to Kalaikunda, which has a large Indian Air Force base.
Times of India report on Mrch 1 said "preliminary interrogation of some of the rebels has thrown up the name of Salahuddin Qadeer Chowdhury, a well-known shipping magnate and reportedly very close to the Pakistan military-intelligence complex and the opposition BNP. According to sources monitoring the situation, about one crore taka has already changed hands to help the mutiny along". Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, however, protested the reporting by
Indian media
The Bengali daily Ananda Bazar of Kolkata also reported that DAD Towhid was an activist of Islami Chhatra Shibir, a student wing of Jamaat-e Islami. On the contrary, the reports in Bangladesh media confirm that Tawhid, joined the BDR after passing the SSC examination well before the Chhatra Shibir was revived in Bangladesh.
Political circle in Bangladesh are surprised by the role of certain Indian media. The 10-party Left Democratic Alliance condemned such motivated campaign by Indian media and also condemned Bangladesh Government's silence over the issue.
Economic impact
Commerce Minister Faruque Khan does not see the BDR mutiny obstructing economic development. "Whatever means the terrorists and rebels resorted to, economic progress will not be impeded," the minister told the media last week.
However, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the BDR mutiny has pushed the economic policy decisions as well as the whole administration on the verge of a stalemate due to a sort of fear over the unrest.
The home ministry on Wednesday sent a letter to the finance ministry proposing an increase in monthly border allowance for the BDR personnel to Tk 500 from Tk 260. The ministry has also proposed to increase the ration for the BDR soldiers to 100 per cent from the existing 60 per cent, a senior official concerned at the home affairs ministry said.
The home ministry has also started lobbying with the foreign missions concerned through the foreign affairs ministry to send the BDR personnel, along with the army and police personnel, on UN peacekeeping missions.
National response
Shocked by the unprecedented killings at BDR headquarters, the nation observed a three-day mourning programme, the parliament moved condolence motion and various socio-political organizations brought out mourning processions in city, formed human chain, hang black banners. The business houses, commercial entrepreneurs and banks also sponsored special advertisements in newspapers to join the nation in mourning the deaths at Peelkhana.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the opposition in parliament, Khaleda Zia, has said her party is still ready to cooperate with the government in getting over the critical time the country is now passing through.
She made the remarks when the US ambassador in Dhaka, James F Moriarty, met her at her Gulshan office Wednesday evening.
The BNP chairperson said it was possible to find out a solution to the problem if all work together.
Maritime boundary: Bangladesh should lodge protest
Faruque Ahmed
The country's territorial waters up to the 350 nautical miles continental shelf are becoming the centre of growing contest from two of her neighbours such as India and Myanmar. Their claims appear highly wishful and partly hegemonistic at a time when Bangladesh lost valuable time over the past two decades to determine its sea line for exploiting its resources. Both fishery and mineral resources including gas and oil in the country's exclusive economic zone have growing importance now with expansion of population and growing demand on resources, experts say.
Equitable sharing of maritime boundary
Senior officials of India and Bangladesh are going to open talks on the maritime boundary of both the countries in Delhi on March 17 and 18. It will be the second such meeting with India after the first meeting held in 1982. The foreign office sources said the meeting at expert level will try to agree on certain principles how to determine the sea line. India and Myanmar are reportedly pressing for applying a principle of equidistance to fix the line, while Bangladesh is for a compromise based on equitable sharing of territorial waters in the sea.
Politicians' indifference
There are so many ways and criteria and both sides are going to open the dialogue to arrive at a compromise point. If they fail, they may take the assistance of United Nations arbitration based on the international law of the sea, sources said.
Bangladesh's territorial water is estimated to have more than two lakh square kilometers area which is twice as much of its surface landmass. But the country's political leaders and policy makers so far remained indifferent to its offshore waters. They had little concern about this vital issue.
Even they have had little concern about it until in the past luring the neighbours to make arbitrary claims on Bangladesh's exclusive economic zones.
Bangladesh's failure
When our political leaders were sitting idle, others were busy establishing control and take away the wealth. In October last year, Myanmar moved exploration rigs in Gas Block-13 of the Bay of Bengal claiming ownership on the area and around it. Later it sent war ships to protect the rig when Bangladesh moved naval presence in the area to free it from illegal occupants.
Meanwhile, India also sent survey ships in two Gas Blocks D-22 and D-23 which Bangladesh claimed that these are located in its own economic zone. Sources say India has stopped the survey pending discussions to resolve the issue. So also Bangladesh is failing to initiate exploitation of gas in most of its gas blocks on protest from Indian and Myanmar side.
Claim by India, Myanmar
Commodore (Retired) Khurshed Alam at a seminar recently said though Bangladesh has 28 gas blocks in the offshore waters, India is claiming ownership on 10 of them while Myanmar is claiming right on nine more. So if Bangladesh accepts their claims, it may have only nine gas blocks left to its use in the country's continental shelf and its economic zone forcing us to withdraw closer to its shore line.
Nonetheless, the recent confrontation in the sea has opened the eyes of the country's leadership and the newly elected government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken fresh move to sort out the matter with the neighbours.
The window of discussion with Myanmar has also opened and negotiation is on to reach an amicable solution to the problem. Commodore Khurshed said the past governments should have taken the move at least two decades ago to start exploitation of gas and other petroleum resources in the sea.
CG's blunder
The negligence had only helped intensify the problem. Even in the recent past when the Caretaker Government (CG) opened the third round bidding of offshore gas blocks, it moved on without sorting out issues with neighbours. India and Myanmar opposed such move and wrote to international oil companies (IOCs) interested in taking part in the bidding not to join the process since they have claimed most of the blocks, they said.
As a result, the response to third bidding was quite poor and confined to only nine blocks. It means India and Myanmar have so far become successful to make the remaining 20 gas blocks of Bangladesh partly disputed and subject to negotiation to settle the ownership issue.
Delhi's move in 1974
India wrote similar letters to IOCs in 1974 when Bangladesh tried to bring foreign companies to gas exploration in the offshore waters around the Sundarbans which is quite close to the shore thus indicating many gas blocks in remote waters more vulnerable to their claims.
What Bangladesh should do
Experts say, if Bangladesh fails to resolve territorial waters issues in mutually arranged talks, then she should go to the UN arbitration. But you have to have a lot of exercise in the process, they said.
In the first place, they say, Bangladesh will have to submit its claims on the continental shelf and sea line to the specialised UN agencies which Dhaka is scheduled to make not earlier than 2011, at least 10 years after from the date of ratification of the UN law of the sea.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has already presented such claim to the UN agency last year while India is going to make it this year. Myanmar claims covers much of Bangladesh's sea line while India is likely to make similar claims reducing Bangladesh's claim to sea to only a small corridor extending to the high sea.
Mere presentation will not however, establish their claim until Bangladesh is making its own claim, experts say. But they are taking the lead to put Bangladesh in the backstage defending its claim, which does not auger well. Experts say, Bangladesh should lodge protest against such claims to make India and Myanmar's claim at least disputed before it is filing its claim by 2011.
Experts say, sea is becoming more important now in terms of resources to develop the nations and feed its growing population. And big powers are increasingly becoming hegemonistic in the process to deny the legitimate rights of its small neighbours.
The latest developments in the sea is thus exposing the country to new security threats. In the process, the USA has offered the service of guarding the country's sea line. And it is opening a new debate as some experts favour it while many critics take with scepticism the offer saying it may protect the waters but who will protect the country from the big saviour.
South Talpatty
Experts say the sea is becoming a growing threat. Referring to India's denial of Bangladesh's right on the South Talpatty island. They say although the international border demarcation in the region and water flows of rivers clearly establishes the country's right on the extended landmass emerging from the sea, Delhi is claiming its ownership on it. So the country's new leadership should chart out policy moves how to face the new challenges and protect the country's sovereignty in the sea.
Experts here say, the opening of dialogue with India on demarcation of the sea line to open the exploitation of resources as well as its management is a good beginning now at a time the regional countries are taking the issue together.
Peelkhana massacre puzzles the nation
Amanullah Kabir
Perhaps modern horror films are no match to the Peelkhana carnage. In an unprecedented incident 68 brilliant army officers from major general down to captain were shot dead in hours-long killing spree. It was nothing short of a mutiny in a section of the armed forces by an unruly group of its members.
When the killing spree was going on inside the BDR headquarters, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina invited a group of their representatives to her official residence in the evening of the fateful day and negotiated a deal with them, some of whom were said to be still wearing mask, for about long two hours. Escorted by ruling Awami League leaders, including a state minister and a whip, the mutineers were thus virtually given government recognition as a party in the horror drama. Not only that, she offered them unconditional general amnesty, allowing them the political leverage to continue their unlawful and anarchic activities. As a result, the mutiny that broke out on Wednesday morning through indiscriminate killing of officers, including BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed, went on for 36 hours when the Prime Minister felt the urgency to appear on the TV screen with the delayed threat to the culprits to surrender or get crushed.
Rebels fled to safety
By that time the BDR rebels fled the carnage spot to safety, leaving a panorama of death and destruction, tears in the eyes of near and dear ones and a shock wave was blowing across the country. The BDR chief's wife along with two relatives and a maid servant was killed, officers' wives and children were subjected to torture and humiliation, their houses or quarters were raided, ransacked and looted. The culprits found enough time to burry the dead bodies of the officers whom they killed and some of the bodies were burnt.
The Prime Minister was busy in holding a series of meetings with her cabinet and political colleagues, and the Army Chief spent hours together with her at her official residence, and the carnage took its toll.
What really happened behind the curtain is, however, not clear. Why the parliament was not taken into confidence even at this stage of national catastrophe? Why were the armed forces asked to refrain from taking action? These have only raised speculations and questions in different circles who could hardly suppress their anger and emotions.
Though there are so many army men-turned-politicians, who are either Awami League MPs or ministers, why was Jahangir Kabir Nanak selected by the Prime Minister to mediate between the government and the rebels, and what was his connection with the rebel leaders?
Power disconnection at BDR
Who did help the culprits escape safely changing BDR uniform? Is it true that public movement around the BDR headquarters was restricted only to ensure safe passage for the killers? It is still a mystery why electricity line inside BDR headquarters was disconnected. Different sources confirmed that many of them who participated in the massacre were strange faces inside Peelkhana.
The Military Intelligence chief while briefing the press on behalf of the armed forces on Saturday at the Dhaka Cantonment also said that the number of BDR members involved in the mutiny might not be much compared to the people present there.
He said, "It was carnage, so it is natural that there will be pent-up anger among us. But, being members of a disciplined force, we can control our emotions." He categorically said that the crisis was solved politically following the Prime Minister's directive.
Meanwhile, the Army formed a separate investigation committee headed by Lt. General Jahangir Alam Choudhury to probe the BDR mutiny. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who had to face a volley of questions at an assembly of army officers at the Dhaka Cantonment later changed her decision and restructured the government investigation committee by dropping the names of the home minister and the state minister for law. Two committees - one formed by the government and another by the army - will obviously produce two separate reports probably with different findings and different recommendations.
Govt. asked to protect national interest
Special Correspondent
The 10-party left democratic alliance (LDA) expressed concern over the mutiny at the Peelkhana BDR Headquarters and squarely held the Army Chief responsible for the command and intelligence failure.
The LDA central committee meeting on Wednesday condemned the killings of the army officers at BDR Headquarters and observed that only a fair investigation may detect the design of the evil forces who worked against our national security.
The alliance opposed the involvement of foreign agencies like FBI in the investigation and asked the government to remain alert against Indo-US design and remain firm to protect the interest of the nation and its sovereignty.
The meeting presided over by Badrul Alam, the current Coordinator of LDA, also protested the imaginary and provocative reporting on Bangladesh issues by a section of the Indian media and the silence of Bangladesh government in this regard.
LDA requested the authorities not to make any conclusive remark on the issues relating to BDR mutiny before the completion of the inquiry. It also called for addressing the disparities and genuine grievances among the rank and file in all disciplined forces like the Army, Police and the Ansar to avoid any further commotion within the forces. Meanwhile, LDA took out processions and organised protest meetings in different parts of the country on March 1 as part of its agitation programme to press home its 9-point demands. Demands include repeal of all undemocratic rules, ordinances and amendments to the constitution; an end to forcible occupation of properties, violence and plundering by criminals under the shelter of the ruling party.
The alliance organized rallies and demonstration programmes at district and Upazila head-quarters on March 1 to make the people aware about the political and economic problems they are facing under the newly elected government of grand alliance led by Awami League Sheikh Hasina.
Badrul Alam said that people's aspirations and hopes turned into frustration within one and a half-month of the new government. "They have already started breaching their pre-election pledges, taking the authoritarian course in running the administration and trying to rehabilitate the criminals by keeping the black laws in force for suppressing the people", he added.
The LDA strongly opposed the initiative to sign TIFA with the USA, and offer transit to India and also join regional task force with India and described the initiatives as opposed to national sovereignty and security of the country.
LDA further demanded a quick start of the trial of war criminals by forming a special tribunal. The government should take the lead in this decision making process.
LDA demanded abolition of DGFI's political wing and an end to torture in custody and extra judicial killings in the name of cross fire or encounter.
DEMAND FOR KILLERS' MILITARY TRIAL
'Revenge for Padua defeat in 2001'
Abdur Rahman Khan
The planned killings at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters at Peelkhana were a conspiracy to weaken Bangladesh's defence capability and the border security. This was carried out as a delayed retaliation against Padua defeat of 2001.
The hostile forces that want to see Bangladesh as a failed state and also want to grab military foothold in Bangladesh in the name of task force or peacekeeping force are behind the conspiracy, says Major General (rtd) Fazlur Rahman, a former chief of the BDR.
Talking to the Holiday, Maj. Gen. (rtd) Fazlur Rahman said in confidence that the nation stood firmly together behind the armed forces to keep them restrained and avoid further bloodshed in spite of the shock and anger widely prevailing among the young officers who have lost a large number of their fellow comrades in arms.
Enemies beyond border
"Maybe it was designed to kill two birds in a single shot", he said adding that the enemies beyond our border always want Bangladesh to be subservient to them and continue to remain subjugated.
Maj. Gen. (rtd) Fazlur Rahman served as the Director General of BDR during the previous Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina. He was regarded as a national pride after the BDR had successfully defended the Indian attack along Kurigram border in April 2001. But Gen. Fazlur Rahman and two other top officials of the BDR had been transferred ahead of the Indo-Bangla border meeting held in Dhaka in July 2001.
BSF's attack in 2001
At least 16 BSF personnel were killed after the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) launched a sudden attack in the northern Kurigram district on April 18, 2001. Some 33 BSF men entered Bangladesh territory taking cover of smoke shells at Roumari area in Kurigram district and started indiscriminate mortar shelling on the villagers when the BDR, aided by the villagers, retaliated and defended the attack.
BDR, the paramilitary force in Bangladesh, is mainly responsible for guarding the borders of the country. They are the vigilant sentinels of our national frontier. The British had first raised the Ramgarh Local Battalion in 1795 by recruiting the native population. The battalion was succeeded by the Eastern Frontier Rifles, which guarded the frontier from 1891 to 1920, when it was disbanded.
After the creation of Pakistan, border duties in this part were assumed by the East Pakistan Rifles. After independence of Bangladesh it was named the BDR. Apart from its primary task of protecting the borders, the members of BDR were given the additional task of checking smuggling in 1958.
BDR's glorious role in Liberation War
The BDR has a glorious history; its valiant members took up arms in an organised manner against the occupation Army of Pakistan during our Liberation War of 1971.
After the war several BDR members earned gallantry awards - for example, Lance Naik Nur Mohammad Sheikh and Lance Naik Munshi Abdur Rouf were awarded the highest gallantry award, the 'Bir Sreshtha'; 8 others were awarded the 'Bir Uttam', 40 others got 'Bir Bikram' and 91 the 'Bir Patik' for their heroic sacrifice and deeds in the Bangladesh War of Liberation.
137 brilliant officers
Referring to the last week's mutiny at BDR headquarters, former DG of BDR, Maj. Gen. Fazlur Rahman said the carnage of February 25 and 26 was not an outburst of the dissatisfaction of the ordinary soldiers. The killing of a large number of brilliant officers was something else conspired to weaken our defence forces, he asserted.
On Saturday, as emotions ran high among the ranks after the massacre by the mutineers, the military intelligence chief Brig Gen Mahmud Hossain said 72 were still missing, 63 were dead and 33 officers were found alive.
Getting panicked with the news at his old place of work, Gen. Fazlur Rahman instantly called one of the officers at Peelkhana to know about the actual situation and also called a Minister - a former course-mate of his in the Army - to take immediate action against the rebels.
Gen. Rahman felt that the delay in military operation on the plea of the so-called political negotiations had aggravated the situation resulting in the murder of so many officers and the humiliation of their families.
Command, intelligence failure
He told the media several times that the incident indicated a command and intelligence failure. He also blasted the persons in power for not taking the matter seriously and even not responding quickly when the murdered BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed conveyed the SOS to the Army Chief and the Prime Minister.
He demanded military trial of the killers who took up arms against the officers and resorted to criminal actions like looting arson and violation of women and girls by taking the opportunity of general amnesty.
Maj Gen Fazlur Rahman wants that the government must restore command first and rebuild the border guarding force to defend the security of Bangladesh's frontiers.
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