Is nation heading towards civil war? M. Shahidul Islam Every nation takes stock of prevailing situations in moments of desperation. Passing through one of such crucial moments, conscientious quarters in Bangladesh must do the same without delay. Over the last few weeks, fear of the country sliding into chaos and anarchy has intensified. Many even predict the prospect of a civil war due to the government's dogged determination to annihilate the opposition by creating an intrusive fiefdom to entrench political power. While many prefer to justify such a downward spiralling situation as a natural consequence of unimpeded pre-election foreign meddling-which had managed to install a regime of external choice - it, however, explains only part of a giant problem. No doubt the countries in which regimes were installed from without did invariably succumb to civil wars-the recent examples being Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to name but a few-but drawing sweeping and generalised parallel with others could be misleading. From our own vantage, one of the main reasons triggering such fears of the danger of a civil war seems related to the government's inability to govern and the nonchalant manner and the style being followed in dealing with dissents. This seems to have contributed greatly in the resultant rapid polarization of a nation that is otherwise monolithic. Since assuming power, the government has followed dual standard in almost all aspect of governance. Besides, it has been excessively obsessed with a number of trials that helped resurface old wounds and sparked the political landscape's further slide toward the precipice of a dreaded anarchical prospect. For instance, the media was urged few weeks ago not to write or say anything 'prejudicial' about the ongoing Mujib killing trial, which most of the media outlets did comply with, so far. But, in the parliament, a person no less than the Deputy Speaker had already implicated last week former President Ziaur Rahman with the August 15, 1975 massacre. This was followed by the PM accusing BNP for the recent attack on MP Fazle Nur Taposh, much before any investigation having ascertained that fact for sure. Prior to that, Sheikh Selim, a close relative of the PM, blamed the then army chief Maj. Gen. (retd) K M Shafiullah for his complicity in protecting the country's President and Maj. Gen. Khaled Musharrof, then Chief of General Staff (CGS), for ordering officers to move to Bangabhaban in the aftermath of the coup. Blames are also pouring against the then Brigadier Shafat Jamil, commander of strategic 46 brigade, for not complying with the command of the Army Headquarters (AHQ) during the August 15 massacre. If the then Army Chief Shafiullah, deputy chief Ziaur Rahman, CGS Khaled Musharrof and 46 Brigade commander Shafat Jamil were all involved in the August 15 massacre, as is being claimed by the incumbent government mouthpieces, the entire armed forces and its chain of command are deemed to have been involved, by implication. That makes the massacre a textbook-style military coup and the trial and justice for the same justifiably deserves to be held under the Bangladesh Army Act, in military court. Surreal components Why that did not happen is another story with immense surreal components attached to it. Before Justice Golam Rosul rendered his verdict in November 1998 to the Mujib killing trial, the arguments against using the wrong venue for the trial were neutralized by obtaining a 'written consent' from the army headquarters that the 'military had no objection to the trial taking place in civil court.' That implied two things for certain. First, then incumbent Army Chief, Gen. Mustafizur Rahman, was above the bounds of prevailing laws, and, secondly, such an authority he had derived by virtue of being an uncle of PM Sheikh Hasina who had brought him back to service from retirement. As well, the fact that Mujib killing trial still poisons the High Court compound leads one to conclude that the trial at the civil court not only vitiates the due process of laws pertaining to the incident, it primarily aims at whipping up partisan propagations to defame the image of the military as well as to instil sympathy for the victims in peoples' minds in order to reap undue political dividends. Unfortunately, all these happen at a time when the military is waiting impatiently to see the trial of a recent mass murder, concomitant rape and arson, and other grisly crimes against humanity that had taken place inside the BDR compound in Peelkhana on February 25-26. People express dismay and shock that the government does not feel ashamed of the fact that the BDR massacre investigation has transcended tolerable time span and the trial of the carnage, in which at least 58 senior and mid-ranking armed forces officers were brutally murdered, has been cunningly passed onto a hybrid of courts, none of which are competent or capable enough to conduct trial of a mammoth mutiny or related crimes committed by members of armed forces. BDR probe, manoeuvring Add to these the clever manoeuvring that went along with such machinations. For instance, one particular Brigadier General who was appointed a member of the Army-led investigation team, had to quit from the team allegedly upon his negation to remove factual details from the investigation's findings. Another Brigadier Gen., who had replaced him and allegedly complied with the same request and was promoted to the next higher rank. These are neither state secrets nor sensitive information deserving tight-leap safeguards. At a time when the nation faces one of the gravest dangers and the armed forces are subjected to the most vitriolic onslaughts to destroy their image and morale, these truths must be told, especially due to some recent trends being more troubling. For mysterious reasons, many of the BDR personnel who had made confessional statements following arrest have now begun to change their accounts of the events, while over 50 of such detainees -- considered to be key witnesses -- have died in custody for unknown reasons. Besides, the CID is yet to finalize charges against the accused and the trial is expected to commence only after the dusts of the Mujib killing trial settle to the government's favour. AK-47, Akhi, Torab Ali Amidst such a state of affairs of the nation and its armed forces, illegal arms and ammunition of huge quantity are pouring into the country through over 4,000 km long porous border with India. On November 2, police arrested Taslima Khanam Akhi, secretary of Kushtia town Mahila Awami League (AL), with an AK-47 assault rifle and 82 rounds of ammo while she entered Bangladesh from India. AL's Kushtia city branch secretary, Amirul Islam, told bdnews24.com that Akhi is a former commissioner of Kushtia municipality's Ward No 8. The following day, police recovered 17 firearms and arrested two more arms traders from Arabpur bus stand in Jhenidah, who too are learnt to be associated with AL politics. One wonders why so many AL activists are arming themselves to the hilt and why the government did not recover as yet the huge cache of arms that one of the accused of the BDR massacre, local AL leader Subedar (retd) Torab Ali, had openly distributed from BDR armouries to various AL cadres immediately after the mutiny stopped at Peelkhana in the wee hours of February 26. External affairs Amidst such a dreadful ambiance, assessments of external powers are bound to be worrying and sombre. Sources say the US is particularly worried about the evolving situation in Bangladesh and three high-ranking US military officials are scheduled to visit Dhaka early this month to discuss with authorities what a source said 'sensitive' military matters. The composition of the team -- army Lieutenant General Benjamin R. Mixon, Commanding General of U.S. army's Pacific command; Vice-Admiral John M. Bird, Commander of U.S. navy's 7th Fleet; and U.S. Marine Corps Major General Randolph D. Alles, director for Strategic Planning and Policy at the U.S. Pacific Command - does beacon something of much import being on the cards. A reliable source hinted that the discussion of visiting US generals is expected to include the prospect of Dhaka taking a firm stand against Myanmar which has shown its war-ready poise in recent weeks along the country's land and sea borders. If that is true, one can bet it will further anger Beijing which had last week taken a tough stand against a private artist in Dhaka hosting a Tibetan exhibition and ensured its stoppage at the last minute once the Chinese ambassador lodged a strong protest with the Foreign Secretary. |
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