Two days of madness in Bangladesh By Chidi-Nelu
Bangladsh, a densely-populated, a lowland country, is not new to armed unrest. As a matter of fact, this Bengali-speaking nation, lying in between south Asia's two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, was born in 1971, due to a revolt by the people of former East Pakistan against the central authorities then based in Carachi. After India's decisive intervention in helping the Bengalis break away from the rest of Pakistan, thirty-eight years of independence have been fraught with coup d'etats galore, civil unrest and political paralysis. Umpteenly, Bangladesh and its 136 million people have faced political crisis, big time: but, every time that has happened, the military have intervened, because they see themselves as the guarantors of Bangladeshi security and stability. The last time the armed forces of Bangladesh intervened in partisan politic to put a stop to inter-party violence was just over two years ago. Rival supporters of the country's two most powerful; politicians, Beghom Khalida Zaer of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, B.N.P., and sheikh Hassina of the Awami League, had turned the national capital, Daka, and other big cities across the impoverished land into a battle-zone, bringing the business of governance to a virtual standstill. The caretaker, civilian administration which the military installed, same year, 2007, attempted to ban the two women political leaders from party politics; but, more importantly, it succeed in over-seeing a two-year-long political transition, which culminated in a general election, this January-comfortably won by Sheikh Hassina and the Awami League. Barely two months after she was returned to power, her first major test confronted her. A mammoth challenge and a far-reaching one at that, it came again from the military. Apparently, a section of the national armed services had grown tired of the status quo, and revolted in dramatic fashion. Trouble erupted in the wee hours of Wednesday, February 25, when paramilitary (soldiers) based in one of Bangladesh's sixty-four camps of the so-called Bangladeshi Rifles, or B.D.R., mutinied. That was in the Daka headquarters of the B.D.R. Troops in the barracks had confronted their superior officers and began murdering them. By late afternoon (Wednesday) matters had gone haywire, as residents of Daka, scared to bits that a bloody military coup was underway, scampered for safety. By then, it had become clear that members of the B.D.R. were behind the violence. As heavy gunfire reverberated aground the city, but, coming mostly from the B.D.R. headquarters, leaders of the mutiny started giving interviews to the world media. One said, "we had to take up arms, because we have been exploited for more than 200 years. We're demanding the dame wages, working conditions as ordinary soldiers." So, that was it. The B.D.R, numbering some tens of thousands, are resentful of the way regular army officers have always been brought in to head their units. Their national duties were different than that of the regular troops, which is, primarily, to secure the country's borders. By early morning Thursday, the 26th regular had managed to enter the barracks in Daka, to discover to their horror, the first group of dozens of dead bodies of army officers, apparently murdered by the B.D.R. subordinates and dumped in one of the large drains that ran under the barracks. Earlier on in the mutiny, the Bangladeshi authorities had cut off public telephone lines across the country, in an attempt to prevent B.D.R. units co-ordinating the rebellion. But, apparently, that measure did little to stop the same terrible spate of violence by the aggrieved border guards spreading to towns and cities where other members of the Bangladesh Rifles are stationed, including the main port city of Chittigong. Meanwhile, Sheikh Hassina, the prime minister, seemed to have decided earlier enough in the crisis to act. Her response was two prolonged; on the hand, to apply some sort of military pressure on the mutineers, and on the other hand, use negotiations. She first sent negotiators into the barracks to urge the border guards to lay down their weapons, offering the mutineers in return, an amnesty for those who co-operated. An olive branch, no doubt, but not without a terse warning from the prime minister. "I'm urging all to show restraint," she told the rebels on national television. "Please, embrace peace for the sake of the nation," she went on. "This is my appeal. I've instituted a hipowered committee, headed by the home minister, to look into the demands of the B.D.R. members. Right at this moment, you surrender your weapons and go back to barracks. Otherwise, I will be compelled to take action."In effect, the prime minister threatened to order an all-out assault by the army, if the border guards failed to comply. The tactic worked. By mid-day (Thursday), the 26th, the mutiniers selected from among their ranks about fourteen officers who they sent to the prime minister's residence for negotiations. By nightfall, reports that deal had been reached came ringing out from the prime minister's office. The rebellious paramilitary troops, it was said, had agreed to begin laying down their arms, in return for a blanket amnesty from the government. The government had also agreed to look into the grieviances of the mutineers, including allegations of discrimination and corruption against their leaders, who have always been drawn from the regular army. In keeping with the spirit of the deal, the mutinous troops began laying down their arms, as the day drew to a close. But, the government was going to take nothing for granted. Even as the shootings died down, heavily armed regular army troops were ordered to move in, taking up positions in and around the B.D.R. headquarters in the capital. Down-town Daka began to look like a war zone, as a number of tanks, about fourteen in all, were brought in to reinforce the imposing presence of grenadiers and machine-gun-wielding troops, many dressed in battle fatigues. As hour followed hour, more and more members of the civilian population were streaming out of their homes and other hiding-places to watch interventionist troops who had already brought the situation under control, at least at the Daka headquarters of the B.D.R. Not only had several civilians been hit by cross-fire, during the height of the fighting on Wednesday, but, army divers, who later entered into sewers inside the headquarters building to search for more bodies, reportedly fished out dozens more corpses, many believed to belong to regular army officers murdered by their B.D.R. subbordinates, in the early hours of the mutiny. Clearly, a number of the mutineers had been killed themselves in the clashes. The arrival of dawn on Friday, February 27 was accompanied by joyous scenes in the streets of Daka, as residents of the city mingled with soldiers as if to examine the scale of the bloodshed that had hit their country in so short a time. Not only had hundreds of lives been destroyed, but, a significant number of army officers commanding B.D.R. units were sill missing. It was probably at that juncture that Sheikh Hassina, the prime minister, decided to go back on her promise of a blanket amnesty for the mutinous border guards. Would be allowed to take advantage of the amnesty. In other words, all those who participated in the mass murder of their superior army officers will face prosecution. Almost at once, the army announced that some 200 mutineers, who had attempted to sneak out their barracks, had been arrested and detained. |
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