Re: [ALOCHONA] August 15, 1975 Coup and the Executions

A O Chowdhury

Dude - Get over it! Your write-up has so many assertions that are a combination of fantasy and falsehoods that it is not even worth reading let alone responding!!!

Robin Khundkar

 

cc: Goebelsian Isha pass it on to the Dude from the Big Apple!!!

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Isha Khan
Sent: Feb 8, 2010 1:44 AM
To: dhakamails@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ALOCHONA] August 15, 1975 Coup and the Executions

 

August 15, 1975 Coup and the Executions

 

 

A O Chowdhury

New York, USA

February 6, 2010

 

This is in response to the opinions expressed by Tayeb Husain, Jaffar Ullah and Shabbir Bashar on the subject in the readers column of this esteemed media.  

 

Five of the 12 accused in the 'Shiekh Mujib Murder Case' walked to the gallows on the night of January 27/28, 2010. One died in Zimbabwe in 2002. Six others live abroad and hunt for them goes on.

 

The conduct of the trial and executions raised a host of legal, administrative and humanitarian questions.  

 

August 15, 1975 military coup was a successful one, or at the minimum an army mutiny. Successful coups/mutinies became part of the system, a factum valet and their leaders never faced trial. I do not want to waste time and space in giving examples of successful coups the world over. Bangladesh is the only exception in modern times where saviors of a nation had to face gallows. It looks like the country is in ransom in the hands of a vicious coterie!

 

Adult generations who lived in Bangladesh on August 15, 1975 and the days after, would recall how people hailed and rejoiced at the news of the coup and its outcome. It was a jubilation compared to the Victory Day of December 16, 1971. Bangladeshis at home and abroad distributed sweets in happiness. I did not see, read or hear of an iota of protest or challenge against the coup anywhere. The coup leaders were treated as heroes through five successive governments for the next 21 years. Things changed when Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the fallen leader, became prime minister in 1996. Hasina earlier vowed in private conversations (ref: Sirajur Rahman of BBC fame and former Col Harunur Rashid of DGFI) that her only objective to join politics and grab statecraft was to avenge the death of her father. And, she remained true to her pledge. Those who now try to look at the event of August 15 and its aftermath differently are either Awami blind copycats in their 40s or below who did not have the misfortune to experience Mujib's Bangladesh of 1972-75 or they are outright liars or at best opportunist turncoats.

 

Former Awami League president Abdul Malek Ukil termed Mujib a Feraoun while former speaker and foreign minister Humayun Rasheed Choudhury said in a public meeting in Sylhet in late eighties that if Mujib was hanged hundred times yet he would not be cleansed of his sins (Weekly Sugandha November 1, 1996). Another veteran Awami Leaguer, Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury said in 1977, if August 15 did not happen, Shiekh Moni would have staged his own coup sooner to grab power, eliminating his 'mama' if needed.

 

It was, however, very unfortunate that Shikh Mujibur Rahman, most of his family members and others had to die during the short military action on that day. However, circumstances of their death are not very clear, the dramatization during the trial notwithstanding. From mid-sixties, Sheikh Mujib was a towering political figure in East Pakistan, though not without controversies. There is no denial of his great contribution towards Bengalis' renaissance and awakening that culminated in the independence of Bangladesh. He was not in the liberation war, but he was the most loved person on January 10, 1972 when he arrived in independent Bangladesh, following his release from Pakistani custody. But, look what he gave in return to the people in his 3 and a half years' rule instead---death to 40,000 political opponents, the draconian Rakkhi Bahini, the oppressive Emergency, the one-party BAKSAL, the detested 4^th Amendment, loss of half a million lives in the man-made famine in 1974-75, just to name a few! The most loved man became the most hated and there was no Innalillah at the news of his death. Those who crow today for their 'man-god' Mujib, in pretense or in ignorance, need to revisit the news archives and learn the Bangladesh history a little better, particularly of the period of 1972-75.  

 

I am not aware who all were involved in the August 15 coup, other than those whose names came up during the trial. Awami League likes to believe that former president Ziaur Rahman and many others were part of the 'conspiracy'. Some even extend the link to the US and Pakistan. Then army chief General Safiullah have been saying what he is worth. However, he admitted one truth: he found most elements of the army on August 15, 1975 supportive of the coup and not willing to take any action to counter the outcome. Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf perhaps came to the chief's residence that morning in sleeping suit, but according to various reports, he was the first senior officer to react positively about the coup and immediately singed off the release of shells to the tanks in the streets when he learnt that they were without ammunition. One tank and one artillery regiment with about 500 men took part in the coup while one infantry regiment from Joydevpur was to join but could not make it for whatever reasons. Does one need all that to make an ordinary 'killing' for which the trial was held? Why were only 12 officers made scapegoats?

 

A former ambassador, who is known for his opportunist mentality and is often seen in talks shows with his pseudo philosophy, suggested that Col Shariful Haq Dalim be stripped of his "Bir Uttam" title, obviously aimed at pleasing his 'Apa'. Does this man believe that Dalim was awarded Bir Uttam for his participation in the August 15 coup?

 

I recall a statement of former president H M Ershad. He told the journalists at the time of his arrest during Khaleda Zia's first administration, "Khaleda will not remain prime minister for ever and I will not stay in the jail for ever either." We know the rest of the story. At some future time, when the history of Bangladesh will be known and written in its true perspective and August 15 coup will find its respectful place, will the executioners of today, the prosecutors and judges included, be able to give back the lives of those heroes who saved the nation on August 15, 1975? One may not ignore the fact that on December 29, 2008, fifty two (52)% voters did not want Awami League to run the country. And, no government runs its show for perpetuity.  

 

Since start of the Sheikh Mujib trial, the Awami circle, its sycophants and its sponsored media kept saying that it was not an ordinary death or killing, it was the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Bangabandhu, the Father of the Nation and 'Sorbakaler Sarboshrestho Bangali (the best Bengali of all ages). Even one of the Appellate Judges said so during the hearing (implying the honorable judge sat on the bench with a pre-conceived notion!). Agreed, it was not an ordinary death. Then why was the trial made of an ordinary murder? Bangabandhu, Father of the Nation etc. etc. are political titles, Sheikh Mujib was a political personality. As such, a political motif must have worked towards his death or killing. Why would a group of army officers go to the presidential residence and make it a 'killing field'? Did the coup leaders have any personal enmity with Mujib? Was there any personal equation between them and Mujib? Did they want to grab the statecraft for themselves? There was no evidence of any affirmative answers to all these questions, yet ironically, the honorable judges failed to look at them. There was no evidence either that those officers acted on someone else's behalf. Belatedly though, the European Union said the August 15 event was a politically motivated action and could not be tried as simple murder. The Amnesty International, the apex human rights organization, said so repeatedly.

 

Besides, there was a constitutional indemnity preventing the trial of August 15 coup but the Awami League scrapped the law by simple majority in the parliament, thus violating a constitutional requirement which needed two-third majority vote to do so. That was not rule of law, irrespective of legal interpretation and judgment by partisan jurists.

 

The appeal hearing started on October 5, 2009 and the judges dismissed the appeals on November 19. Strangely, it took another one month for them to formalize or chart the roadmap to arrive at the decision. As a layman, it looked to me that the honorable judges were under pressure to dish out the guilty verdict in a hurry. During the appeal review, one judge commented that the appellants were trying to touch the moon. What a remark about persons who were standing on the edge of life and death! It perhaps implied that the honorable judges knew in advance, what they would do with the appeals. Indeed, the review hearing got upstaged, superseding over 400 pending cases, to hasten the execution.

 

The Law Minister, the Home Minister and the Attorney General were in such a haste to hang the accused that they expressed extreme displeasure when the jail authorities waited for the remaining two legal processes to be completed. As a few accused hinted that they would not seek clemency from the President, the jail authorities, albeit at the instance of higher ups, sent clemency applications to the president on their own. The accused, their attorneys and their family members knew nothing about those mercy petitions. Was it to show to the world that all legal facilities were provided to the accused for the sake of justice?

 

The review appeals were dismissed on January 27, 2010 and the authorities decided to hang them the same night, as if the accused could run away if delayed! Col Farook Rahman's mercy petition was processed and denied within hours, perhaps setting an unusual precedence. It looked like the elderly president was waiting impatiently with his pen in Bangabhaban to tick the 'Declined' button and sign the dotted line. I do not want to go over the media circus that followed; it was despicable and sickening! Disrespect to dead bodies by throwing shoes, spitting or blocking burial was totally against our culture, tradition and faith.  

  

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