Bangladesh News and Discussion

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 01 Mar 2009 02:20

Any thoughts if its similar to what happened in Indonesia in Oct., 1965? The difference is instead of Commies its the Islamists who were involved.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 01 Mar 2009 03:01

i wasn't paying attention to this one, but now i see it. the level of violence and barbarism speaks only of utter hatred - this is a purge, a major one, and well orchestrated - so many of the dead appear to have been shot through the head from the front - executed? this has dirty bloody islamist fingerprints all over it.

perhaps the end game for the putsch didn't pan out. perhaps it was launched too soon? someone didn't change sides? i don't know if india is the target here per se, or if it is another roll of the dice in the great khilafat game?

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 01 Mar 2009 03:42

There are great parallels to the IKP uprising in 65. Where it differs is of course the Islamist angle. The Islamists in Bangladesh are not strong in terms of numbers but they derive their strength from their solid connections and sharing of teh same social elite networks as the two major parties and the military. They all also share plenty of skeletons in the cupboard which makes it impossible for any of them to completely ignore or eliminate the other. In the current conditions, what happened was a simple warning to those in the military who are seen to have not done enough to ensure the electoral victory of the Islamists. The military is also not seen as being able to resist the AL efforts at proceeding with the war-crimes trials, and the transit agreements which the BNP eloquently expressed as a possibility for under-cover Indian military supplies. These indicators and the Paksitani emissary's special urging to drop the war-crimes trials initiative are a dead giveaway. They simply wanted to eliminate as much as possible of the older command, who are less likely to be amenable to be completely under the charms of the Jihadis.

It is possible that BDR was deliberately infiltrated by the Jihadis under the various Islamophile regimes in BD with very specific reasons. First BDR will be less supervised by MI, and they are usually posted in remote border areas where MI may not be able to have continuous supervision. The remoteness and the placement in the border also makes it immensely helpful for infiltration into India. These isolated BDR units are also more likely to come in contact with cross-border transit systems for material and human trafficking. Therefore they could be exposed to organized criminal gangs and subject to immense temptations. This was simply aimed at giving a warning and eliminating as much as possible of the older command, so that newer Jihadi recruits could gain ascendancy in future.

The cruelty factor is a standard hallmark of Jihadi terror. It is meant to terrorize and is a deliberate tactic of psychological coercion. These are established and sanctioned by core Islamic pactices, typically the perpetrators are also most careful to avoid a similar fate for themselves and the leadership is most likely to have vanished into safe havens maintained within Indian border.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 01 Mar 2009 06:15

We Indians need to be very, very worried by this development. Pakistan has essentially made sure that now there is no hindrance to Paki terrorists to sneak into India at will.

First thing Bangladesh needs to do is to stop issuing any new visas (of all kinds), revoke all visas to Paki pigs ASAP. India should do everything we can in our power to make this happen.

Shoot at sight orders must be issued along the BD border as there is no presense from BDR, so the border security is only manned at the Indian side (well..most people may think it is status quo anyway). Certainly our dormant forces have extra job to do now.

All BD Jamat and other assorted rabid fundamentalists leaders in BD must have a gun at their head as we speak and collect all available information to effectively identify and neutralize elements that are inimical to India ( Bangladesh is only tangentially relevant in this exercise). Limits on collateral damage on these type of folks (jihadis) must be raised drastically. Any firangi and paki (and for that matter Chini/Thai etc) in BD seen must be dealt with as they should.

Strategy should be to defeat the purpose of distracting us materially and opening up additional front. We need to use this opportunity to elevate our control on the eastern side while maintaining focus on our plan in the NW.

Pakistan MUST be made to pay even more now. BD relations with CHINA must be controlled by India as it bears the direct impact.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 01 Mar 2009 08:22

Paki link revealed
by Indrani Bagchi

The preliminary interrogation of some of the rebels has thrown up the name of Salauddin 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.

Chowdhury, a close associate of opposition BNP leader Begum Khaleda Zia, was closely connected to the Chittagong arms drop case of April 2004 - the arms were apparently intended for ULFA. The ships were caught carrying the arms. Salauddin Chowdhury, belonging to an old Chittagong family, has been close to Pakistan for decades.

Sources are also pointing to the scale of the brutality of the murders, the mutilations, etc, which they say are tell-tale signs of the Islamist ideologies that have infiltrated the lower cadres of the BDR, thanks to their extensive Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) connections.

People take photos with their cell phones. More pictures here: Energy Bangla

Brigadier Muinul Hussain has been placed as new DG.The probe committee with Home Minster as its chief has started its work. Normal service of Border policing has commenced. Three-day sate morning will end on Sunday. PM has declared that killers will not get amnesty. Will be tried as per law. Government has announced that each victim family will get all support. Still about 10000 members of BDR did not join for duty. Search for missing officers continues.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 01 Mar 2009 08:36

BD should ask India for help.

Perhaps India should also stop flights from Pakistan to BD and Nepal.

Someone also needs to send a memo to Uncle Kerry. This is what is bound to happen with the US aid.

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 01 Mar 2009 11:09

Dhaka rebels reveal plot to provoke Army, topple Govt

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dhaka ... vt/429347/

Its all over the media: Paki behind mutiny. Both India and US should confirm support for the current govt. What would be the stand of CHina?

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 01 Mar 2009 11:12

Avinash R wrote:
Dilbu wrote:It is not Hasina's job but India's to make sure the Razakars are purged.
The razakars are bangladeshis. The right person to bring them to justice is the bangla govt and sheikh haseena being the bangla pm is the right person to do it. How can india enter the scene here when the razakars are not our citizens?

Razzakars, if I am not mistaken are stateless since they claim to be Pakistanis and the Pakistanis are no longer to add to their miseries.

I do agree that it is not for India to take action against the Razakaars, unless they transgress into India.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 01 Mar 2009 12:08

I hope there are some mass hanging for this, and not some kiss-and-make-up facade that allows these crooks to continue on, while waiting for their next opportunity.

I'm surprised that India was not on guard for such an attempt, as we can see that the determined forces of regressivism are hell-bent on having their way. Even if they lose at the ballot-box, they intend to stage coups and other types of terror acts to get their way by hook or by crook.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 12:43

Non-state actors is a derogatory term coined in the aftermath of Bombay. Razakar is the old word for these oiseaules used in the Bangladeshi context.

So the theory now is that the mutiny in Pilkhana was genuine(!) with few J-e-I sympathasizers in BDR whereas everything else that happened outside Pilkhana was orchestrated by the Jamaat and the Razakars! Somehow this theory misses many points. Some things that are wide open are: The really barbarous way in which people were murdered, the statement about money being funneled in (1 cr Taka seems too low even by BD's cost of living standards -- the order of cash flow has to be 100 times this), Why target any and every officer around -- was it fear of retribution or was it a planned event?

More questions from someone else,

Few questions have been bothering me for last few days, can anyone enlighten me with answers??

1. Hon'ble PM went to Pilkhana on Tuesday morning and was again due on Wednesday evening (as the BDR week was on). As per protocol the keys to Arsenal then should remain with SSF, but how come the BDR Jawans had it?

2. Even in normal circumstances it should remain with an Officer and not with a Subedar or Jawan.

3. On 22nd there was supposed to be a joint BDR-BSF March Past. BSF pulled out without showing any cause and at the last moment, any idea as to why?

4. We have our military intelligence (however oxymoronic it sounds). With PM due, they should have known about the mutiny. If it was a spur of the moment thing, then they not being aware could have been acceptable. But now as it is being circulated that it was a long planned thing and crores of Tk. was used for this (Mr. Nanak said so), one does wonder what they were doing? If there was a discontent over a period then they should have known it. Or they were too busy taking information on politicians that they forgot to report it to the Govt.

5. On Wednesday the amnesty was declared, but why there was so much delay in making it official? After waiting for couple of hours something (yes I mean storming Pilkhana) could have carried out. Why did we wait for that long?

6. Why one junior Minister and even more junior whip were sent to negotiate? Mind you these two Hon'ble persons were safely tucked away in India during 1-11 regime.

7. State Minister for Home was absent from the scene. Why? He was very vocal and constantly in media previously, but never seen during this crisis?

8. Did anyone mark the discrepancies in statements of rescued/ freed army officers? Some say, bodies were burnt, some says not.

9. First two days media was BDR sympathetic, but since Friday (after army chief visited PM) the tune changed and BDR vilification began. The most laughable was the clip showing RAB asking a chap in a bus, "Who are you" and the guy meekly saying "I work for BDR". Jeez, we all know that defence has their brain down somewhere of the anatomy, but someone who is running away would answer in such obvious way? Gimme a break. What do the media take us for?

10. Why was there a sudden blackout on Thursday night as Armed Police Battalion entered Pilkhana. There was no power outage until then.

11. No one is saying how many BDR was inside the Pilkhana at the time of mutiny. We know that about two hundred was in the barracks, and another about two hundred is caught while fleeing. So far I know, at any given point there are about 12,000 BDR jawans in pilkhana, what happened to the rest? If they all fled, then what the Army and RAB was doing who surrounded and cordoned off the area? Home Minister said about 3,300 surrendered the arms. The numbers just don't add up, does it?

12. Why state mourning for army officials only? Civilians do not count?

13. 5 lac tk. For the families of armies. Why not the civilians?

14. Can our journalists be a little more humane? On Wednesday, when some civilians were carrying a wounded man on their shoulders, they blocked the rescue path to take photos. On Thursday, when all on a sudden the notice to evacuate was issued and people were running away, they were blocking and asking where they were going and why? What an idiotic question to ask people frantically running to save their lives. Or asking the family members of missing army personnel what they are doing in from of BDR gate. Height of insensitivity and idiocy if you ask me.

15. One so called journalist/political analyst in ETV (BTW, CEO of ETV claims to be an AL supporter, but I have letters signed by him, claiming himself to be a Bangladeshi Jatiyotabadi, I guess he changed his colours as it suits him), stated that he is ashamed to call himself a journalist as few called the incident as a mutiny, in his view it is nothing but a planned killing spree. What made him say that? Does he know something that he didn't share with the general public? Same goes for Mr. Nanak's statement about crores of Tk. Being spent to make this happen? We general people would love to know that and help the Govt. to maintain our sovereignty.

16. Last but not the least, "What is meant by General Amnesty"????????

What actually happened, according to someone!

One version suggests the person who raised the question was disciplined soon after but others said the flashpoint came the following morning. On February 25, during the daily morning parade when Ahmed was taking the salute, one trooper raised his voice and asked the chief why he did not take up the BDR's grievances with Hasina.

Ahmed told the soldier to "fall out" and asked a junior officer to punish him. According to one account, the trooper was to be put into the doghouse — a small confined space where he would roil in the sun. In another account, he was to carry a recoilless gun or a rifle over his head and run several rounds around the courtyard till his legs felt like jelly and his arms limp. A comrade could not take this. Soldiers at parade to give the salute to the superior are not usually armed unless they are ready to go into action. The comrade ran to the corner where arms were stockpiled, pulled out a pistol, scurried back and, in a fit of rage, pumped the major general with bullets in the courtyard.

But mutineers who came out this evening claimed that Ahmed opened fire on the sepoy who questioned him, triggering the mutiny. In minutes, the courtyard was showered with bullets, some from pistols, some from recoilless guns manned in twos and threes and, later, aimed at helicopters.

Some men manned mortars. Shells littered the streets of Dhanmandi and New Market. A rickshawpuller was killed. So were Colonel Mujibul Haq, once a leader of the simply named Operation Dal Bhaat in the Dhaka sector, and Lt Colonel Enayet, the commander of the 36 Battalion. The rebels held out for several hours even after Hasina offered a general amnesty last evening, insisting that the army be withdrawn and they would surrender only to one of their superiors. Eventually, the government asked Subedar Major Mohammad Touhid, said to be the senior-most in the original border force cadre, to accept the arms.

By then, Hasina had gone on air to warn of tough measures. "We don't want to use force," Hasina said. "But don't play with our patience. We will not hesitate to do whatever is needed to end the violence…." She also sent in tanks as another persuasive measure. Twenty tanks and 15 armoured vehicles with heavy machine guns from the ninth division — notorious for its role in coups — rumbled into Dhaka, taking up positions in residential neighbourhoods around the BDR complex.

The mutineers then hoisted a white flag and completed the surrender by late evening. Before the surrender, unrest broke out in several parts of Bangladesh, possibly whipped up by the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami. At least three BDR commanding officers were reportedly shot dead in Rajshahi, Satkhira and Teknaf. Sources said Touhid could be holding fort for the time being but eventually an army officer of the rank of major general would be given charge of the border force.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090227/j ... 599073.jsp
On Maj Gen Shakil,

The murder of Ahmed's wife stood out for betrayal and brutality: a personal security guard emptied his gun on her in the family's quarters inside the BDR complex, highly placed sources told The Telegraph. "Her body was put in a jeep and the vehicle was set ablaze," a witness said in Dhaka. The treachery carried echoes of another subcontinental tragedy — the assassination of Indira Gandhi who was gunned down by her bodyguards.

Reports reaching New Delhi said one of Ahmed's two daughters was also killed along with her mother. But another version in Dhaka said the daughters escaped because they were in a school outside the compound, writing examinations. The Telegraph could not confirm either version independently. By the time the wife fell to the bullets of the guard, probably a runner who took care of errands, the major general himself had been shot by a sepoy in a fit of rage, according to multiple sources in Dhaka as well as Delhi.

Regarding BDR-BSF,

Dhaka has requested New Delhi to disarm and hand over Bangladesh Rifles mutineers trying to flee into India with the Bangladesh Army hot on their heels, officials here told The Telegraph. The increased security on the border with Bangladesh has largely to do with this request. The border — which runs for more than 4,000km, is largely fenced inside Indian territory and does not follow defined markers — has been reinforced with additional BSF units. The security establishment has concluded that it does not require a realignment of forces in the eastern and northeastern theatres for this purpose.

Dhaka has told New Delhi that firing that may be heard on this side, or bullets that may cross the border, should not be misunderstood as signs of aggression: they are aimed at mutineers who have not yet turned themselves in. Around 700 armed BDR men are said to be on the run. But it is the request to disarm BDR mutineers that is uncomfortable for India. The US too is encouraging India to play a "stabilising role" in the region. "India doesn't want to meddle in Bangladesh's internal affairs, though it risks being affected by them," said Sreeradha Datta, Bangladesh specialist and fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis.

"While India may be sympathetic to what is happening with Bangladesh's internal crisis, it will not be dictated (to on) what action it should be taking." Datta explained: "I would try to prevent elements from coming over to India, by force if necessary and even if the US wants us to. India should not be seen as a party to disarming the BDR."

Yesterday, home minister P. Chidambaram had confirmed that BDR soldiers at outposts in two or three places had communicated to their BSF counterparts in some frontier bunkers that they might request shelter because the army was after them. The appeals have been made in about 30 places on the borders in Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.

In some outposts, BDR soldiers have sent written notes to their BSF counterparts seeking shelter, saying they have a rampaging army pursuing them. The developments signal that the Bangladesh Army is now baying for blood and wants to avenge the massacre of its officers — most of whom are sons of army officers and civilian bureaucrats — by the BDR mutineers. It also explains the turnaround by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who said amnesty would not be granted to killers. The army chief, General Moeen U. Ahmed, himself under pressure from his cadre, had met Hasina and conveyed the demand from the army for swift justice.

The army wants public punishment, even death, for the killers of the BDR director-general, Major General Shakil Ahmed, his wife, the deputy director-general and scores of other officers whose bodies are being dug out of mass graves. The army is expecting 50-100 mutineers to be handed exemplary punishment that could go up to the death sentence.

Indian officers monitoring the developments said General Moeen Ahmed was confronted by his officers in the cantonment before he went to meet Hasina. If Hasina can restrain the army and follow the due process, she will emerge stronger. "The next five-six days are crucial," a source said, suggesting the government was focusing its efforts on preventing a backlash from the army.

One silver lining — for India, too — is that the Bangladesh Army is not as politicised as the BDR is. The army had also built bridges with India of late. After the meeting last night, General Moeen Ahmed reaffirmed army support for the government. "Let me tell you all again that the Bangladesh Army is subservient to the government," he said. "We are a people's army serving the nation and upholding democracy. Please stay calm. We are trying to address the situation and resolve (disputes) with the help of everyone."

Hasina's long-standing rival, Opposition leader Khaleda Zia, offered to co-operate with the government in its investigations into the mutiny but criticised the Prime Minister for initially offering amnesty to the BDR rebels. "This gave them time to kill more people and conceal their brutality," Khaleda said. Hasina's Awami League has had a traditionally tenuous relationship with the army, which has had better relations with Khaleda's Bangladesh National Party. The party of Khaleda, widow of former army chief General Zia-ur Rehman, has also attracted former army officers as leaders in larger numbers than the Awami League.

Indian officers, however, admit that the grievances over pay and perks in the BDR are genuine and the mutiny, if organised, could not have been the handiwork of the Jamaat and fundamentalist elements from the very beginning. This is understandable because disgruntlement in the Indian security forces is all too real. Indian military forces, for example, are now resentful over recommendations of the sixth pay commission. Other agencies, like the Assam Rifles officered by the army, too have issues which they have raised time and again with the government and which are still being addressed.

The latent discontent in the BDR is suspected to have been fanned by fundamentalist forces, aided by the ISI. Other sources said that over the years, the BDR, which had fought against Pakistan in the Liberation War, had been politicised and came to be divided into two camps — one supporting Awami League and the other backing the BNP. The BNP faction is said to have been infiltrated by elements sympathetic to the Jamaat and the Huji. The spilling over of the BDR mutiny outside Dhaka may have been fomented by the Jamaat, the sources said.

Dhaka's request that the mutineers be disarmed by Indian forces and be handed over to the Bangladesh Army has the tacit blessings of the US. But India does not want to be seen as acting under international pressure and wants to confine itself to acting in its own interests.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090301/j ... 608500.jsp

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 13:01

During the mutiny, around 3300 BDR members were inside the BDR headquarters while the number of commissioned officers was 160, concerned official sources said.

Almost all of the 160 officers were wiped out whereas only ~500 of the BDR cadre have been caught! Noone has a clue on the real numbers. Some reports say 7k, some say 15k, some say 3k. I mean can they be this clueless to not know the difference between 3k and 15k?!

From an army officer's yakti-yak, Take it for what its worth cos the army officer is fuming and he has a good reason to.

Before 2002, only very average army officers were posted to BDR. Those officers used to pass time and wait for retirement. the scenario was changed in late 2002, when army started to pump in outstanding oficers to BDR to shape up the national border and curb cross-border crime and smuggling. Before 2002, the BDR jawans were very rich through the earning of smuggling. their sepoys and naiks and havilders had buildings and house that even officers can only dream of.

After 2002, smuggling and its sharing by BDR jawans started coming down. capture of smuggling figures, if you can manage, will rightly prove that. therefore the young BDR jawans that were pictured from pilkhana were the young ppl with 5-10 years of service who couldn't earn from smuggling. their seniors told them, "You see, we have made house when we were sepoy, but you can't have now because army officers are making money and not sharing with you." this is theme they used to motivate the young jawans.

• RAB arrives at Pilkhana gate at about 10am and ready to move in. Home Ministry said a stubborn "No".
• Troops of Mirpur Cantt and Dhaka Cantt arrives at Pilkhana by 11:30am. they seek permission to go in. Again a big "No"
• Innocent Media people, bluffed by the BDR jawans, focus to the nation the good side or the "right cause" of rebellion BDR. they ask for BCS officers....!!!
• Govt sends nanok and others and they enter courageously into BDR Pilkhana and safely come back and they are not held hostage.
• At 4:30pm, army tanks are ready to go in, briefing done, again a big "No". The army is told to go 3 km away from Pilkhana.
• 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, we repeat DOES NOT meet any army officer of BDR.
• media people telecast live sound of firing from inside Pilkhana when sahara is inside.
• sahara comes out and faces the media. some channel representative asks her "Apni jokhon vitorey chilen, amra goolir shobdo shunlam, apni shunen ni?" she say "No. I did not hear any firing". sahara did not mention anything about the 168 officers inside, nor the media asked her where were the officers.
• THIS WAS BECAUSE AT THAT TIME BDR WAS COMPLETING THE TOTAL KILLING OF ALIVE OFFICERS AND 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 when he was surrounded by BDR gunmen.
• IG police freely moved in because his daughter and son in law capt haider was inside. he ensured the rescue of his daughter, married 82 days earlier.
• only police is allowed to enter pilkhana and throughout the night they find only 7 dead bodies and suggest that search could not be done due to darkness.
• NON-MILITARY AMBULANCES ENTER AND LEAVE PILKHANA A NUMBER OF TIMES AND TAKES AWAY SO MANY DEAD BODIES...BUT THE TOTAL STILL REMAINS 7. only 5-7 other bodies appear from canal behind BDR naturally floating. IT WAS BECAUSE ABOUT 32 KILLERS WERE TAKEN AWAY BY THOSE AMBULANCES.
• Next morning 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 pilkhana 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 PILKHANA. only about 200 fools of BDR were left at Pilkhana.
• Nanok in a media briefing in front of Pilkhana declares that "It was a big conspiracy" and lac lac crore taka were distributed in Pilkhana." DEAR MEDIA, HE WAS RIGHT. BECAUSE EACH DAD WORKING AT PILKHANA GOT TK 25 LAC between 22 and 24th February, distributed by nanok's men.

6. 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 familes, the officers of Bangladeshi people, are killed and molested. Only about 37 or 57 officers were killed in our War of Liberation 1971 by pakistanis in 9 months. and our own ministers and MPs ensured that more than 140 officers and families are killed in about 24 hours!!! What an achievement of our nation!!

Yesterday the Guardian was taken on a tour of the colonial bungalow where Maj Gen Ahmed, his wife and another military couple, Colonel Delowar and his wife, were killed. There was blood on the wall and floor, among the shattered glass and broken furniture. The army said Col Delowar was beaten repeatedly over the head with a stone, and that his wife died after a television was dropped on her skull.

Mrs Ahmed was shot, raped and killed by being thrown off a five-floor building, the army said. The body of the major general was found in a shallow grave. Many of the bodies were dumped in hastily dug holes covered by little more than mounds of dirt. Others had been thrown into the sewers of the sprawling compound that housed the soldiers and many of their families.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/fe ... ion-mutiny

sum · Post by **sum** » 01 Mar 2009 13:37

Mrs IG was livid at RAW for being surprised at the coup against Mujib Ur Rehman. So there is track record of sleeping on the job .

Hadnt Kao himself gone to warn Mujib about a impending coup?

Dhaka's request that the mutineers be disarmed by Indian forces and be handed over to the Bangladesh Army has the tacit blessings of the US. But India does not want to be seen as acting under international pressure and wants to confine itself to acting in its own interests.

What is Dilli's interest at present?

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 15:20

Q. Why did the Razakars get away in the first place?
Multiple reasons.

The primary one seems to be pressure from Amrika. Nixon and HAK started with Enterprise and ended with pressuring the new BD government to pardon the Razakars. Devils non-pareil. My thesis is: "Amriki-Chini is the disease, pakisatan is the syndrome."

The secondary reason seems to be internal BD dynamics -- there was already a faction within BD that did nt want retribution, and that faction flowered and prospered under Gen. Zia-ur-Rehman when he took over. The BNP follows Gen. Zia's policies in toto -- what else is expected of Gen. Zia's widow?

Wrt AL, Sh. Mujib has been accused of soft-pedalling on the Razakar issue. As a tiger that rode the Islamist horse from 1955 and up, Sh. Mujib was a pragmatic man. He for one knew what drove the ethos of Bangladeshi politics. That must be an obvious necessary condition to become a Bangabandhu, one would assume. It is hard to not believe that Sh. Mujib knew of the Islamist faction, so he tried to compromise on the Razakar issue. After all, were nt the majority of the folks eliminated by the Razakars those kafir Hindooos. Sh. Mujib wanted BD to become a OIC member and one of the conditions imposed was to let the Razakars go.

In all this, India was certainly accused of "not caring a damn whether the Razakars were punished or not." JN Dixit puts a needle in this balloon as can be seen below.
-----------
Now from wiki,

Many of the lower ranking Razakars who remained in Bangladesh were killed in the course of reprisals immediately after the end of fighting while as many as 36,000 were imprisoned. Of the latter many were later freed mainly because of pressure from US and China who backed Pakistan in the war, and because Pakistan was holding 200,000 Bengali speaking military and civilian personnel who were stranded in West Pakistan during the war.

From http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics ... atrocities

Immediately after the war, the topic of putting the war criminals to trial arose. Just as the war ended, Bangladeshi prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed admitted to Professor Anisuzzaman that the trial of the alleged Pakistani military personnel may not be possible because of pressures from the US. He also told that India and Soviet Union are not interested about the trial. On 24 December 1971 Home minister of Bangladesh A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman said, "war criminals will not survive from the hands of law. Pakistani military personnel who were involved with killing and raping have to face tribunal."

In a joint statement after a meeting between Sheikh Mujib and Indira Gandhi, Indian government assured of giving all the assistance for bringing war criminals into justice. By July 1972, Bangladeshi government reduced the number of alleged war criminals from 400 to 195. In his book "Liberation and Beyond", JN Dixit wrote that the Bangladeshi government was not interested about gathering evidence about the handful amount of war criminals. He was uncertain about the reason behind this approach and figured it as a result of a possible negotiation between the Bangladeshi and Pakistani government. He thought that Sheikh Mujib did not want to do anything that would stop Pakistan and other Muslim states from giving Bangladesh the official recognition. Worldwide support in favor of war trial faded after the 3 nation agreement.

On 29 December 1991 one of the known alleged war criminal Ghulam Azam became the Chairman or Aamir of Jamaat-E-Islami which prompted political debates. As a result, a National Committee was established after a proposal of writer and political activist Jahanara Imam. Subsequently on 14 February 1992 "Ekattorer Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee" was formed to bring Azam and his followers to trial. 6 March 52 Muslim clerics supported the effort. An open court named Gonoadalot was formed and on 26 March 1992 Jahanara Imam read out the verdict against Azam. Following the verdict Sheikh Hasina moved a proposal in the house to begin the prosecution, but it was not passed.

More on the Gonoadolot, from wiki,

In 1992, after restoration of democracy, an unofficial and self-proclaimed “Court of People” (Bengali: গণআদালত Gonoadalot) “sentenced” Ghulam Azam and his ten accomplices to death for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Jamaat-e-Islami was already a part of the ruling four-party alliance in Bangladesh and so the “verdict” was ignored. Moreover, the then BNP government returned Bangladeshi nationality to Ghulam Azam, as it had been taken from him after the war. Subdued during the rule of Awami League from 1996-2001, Jamaat returned in full force after the next election in October 2001 in which a four party alliance led by BNP won a landslide victory. The new leader of Jamaat after Ghulam Azam’s retirement, Motiur Rahman Nizami, a Rajakar and among the ten people tried by the Gonoadalot, became an influential minister in the Government.

In JN Dixit's book "India-Pakistan in War and Peace", I find the following excerpt:

The Pakistani Army created paramilitary vigilante forces, called Razakars and Al-Badrs, who took over the dubious task of pursuing their fellow citizens after each military operation. A significant number of these paramilitary forces were recruited from amongst migrants from UP and Bihar who felt that their future interests would be safeguarded only if they supported West Pakistani terror. The ethnic dimension of this repression structured by the military regime created a deep divide between the Bengalis and non-Bengalis of East Pakistan.

There was growing support and sympathy for the cause of Bangladesh’s liberation. In stark contrast to this the majority of governments, not only of the Western democracies but also the countries of the Non-Aligned group and the socialist bloc, were opposed to the liberation of Bangladesh or the fragmentation of Pakistan.

The attitude of the Nixon administration was anti-Indian on the entire gamut of issues relating to developments in East Pakistan. Nixon’s antipathy towards India was neither rooted in ideology nor coloured by political factors. It was entirely a matter of Nixon’s flawed personal chemistry with Mrs Gandhi, going back to the time when he was vice-president under President Eisenhower. Nixon had visited India in the early 1960s at a point of time when his reputation was very high as a “Cold
Warrior” and the winner of “the kitchen debate” with Khruschev in Moscow. He was treated rather perfunctorily by Mrs Gandhi and the Indian leadership because both Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had a better personal equation with Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson as well as the leadership of the Democratic Party. Nixon had proceeded to Pakistan from India. In contrast to the treatment in New Delhi, he was lionised by Field Marshal Ayub Khan and the Pakistan Government. He never forgave Mrs Gandhi and the Government of India for the lack of attention and high courtesy he thought he deserved. Mrs Gandhi on her part has been described in her interaction with President Nixon as aloof and indifferent. The US nevertheless was an object of primary attention in India’s foreign policy at that point of time.

Foreign Minister Swaran Singh visited Washington in June 1971 to brief US authorities about the developing tragedy in East Pakistan. He urged the US Government to stop military assistance and to apply economic sanctions against the Yahya regime to extract from it a positive response for the people of East Pakistan. The effort proved futile. Nixon and Kissinger owed too much to Yahya for his help in establishing contact with the Chinese leadership. It was during late August and early September 1971 that the US decided to adopt the policy that came to be known as “the tilt in favour of Pakistan”. Though a general policy statement was made about the US discontinuing military support to Pakistan, supplies continued. From late August onwards messages started coming suggesting that the US would
discontinue economic assistance to India if it persisted in supporting the East Pakistan movement. An interesting example of political theatrics took place when the US ambassador to New Delhi, Kenneth Keating, told Mrs Gandhi at a meeting in her South Block office that the US wished to avoid taking the embarrassing decision to stop economic assistance to and cooperation with India and hoped that India would reconsider its policies on the East Pakistan issue. Mrs Gandhi’s response was prompt and decisive. She told Keating that there was no need for the US to feel embarrassed and suggested the immediate closure of the US Aid Mission Office in New Delhi. She stuck to her decision. The office, located in a well-appointed complex of buildings on what was then known as Mehrauli Road (now Aurobindo Marg), was closed down. The building was converted into a hotel (Qutub Hotel) by
the India Tourism Development Corporation.
......
In the General Assembly, 117 members participated in the general debate of whom 55, excluding India and Pakistan, referred to Bangladesh in their statements. It is interesting that only India and four other countries in the entire UN advocated a political settlement of the East Pakistan crisis in consultation with the people of East Pakistan. The reaction of all the other countries was both ambiguous and pusillanimous.

Four countries “specifically” stated that a political solution should be reached in consultation with the elected representatives of the people: France (“a political solution based on the consent of the Pakistani people”), Mongolia (“a settlement by political means in accordance with the interests of its people”), New Zealand, and Sweden (“a political solution based on the will of the people as expressed through the ballot”).

During the initial days of my assignment in the Indian embassy in Bangladesh in 1972, the Prime Minister Tajuddin told me that when Bhutto decided to release Mujib between 4 and 7 January 1972, he took the first step towards safeguarding the interests of the Pakistani military. Before his release and departure via London and Turkey, Bhutto is reported to have told Mujib that as a quid pro quo for his release he should help in freeing the prisoners of war and in not holding war crime trials. Bhutto is reported to have used the argument of solidarity among Muslims in support of his advocacy. He also reportedly reminded Mujib of his own contribution to the Muslim League’s struggle for Pakistan before Partition, whatever the later
differences and controversies might have been. Mujib’s policies and attitudes on the issues between 1972 and 1974 lend credence to these
reports.

Having achieved his immediate objectives, Bhutto concentrated on the two remaining aims: preventing the war crime trials and reestablishing Islamic links with Bangladesh. Though a bitter rival, Bhutto was accurate in his perception about Mujib’s subconscious Islamic inclinations and his innate reservations about India, which Mujib viewed through the prism of his complexes about West Bengal. From 1973 onwards Bhutto sounded Mujib about Bangladesh joining the OIC, with the attractive proposition of Bangladesh emerging as a major South Asian Islamic country. When Mujib responded positively to this courtship by other Islamic countries, it was conveyed Bangladesh would get recognition from Pakistan and admission to the OIC if war crime trials were not held. The deal was struck some time between November 1973 and January 1974.

Mujib participated in the Islamic summit in Lahore in February 1974, despite a fair amount of opposition and doubts from his old comrades in the Awami League. Mujib returned, Pakistan recognised Bangladesh, and Bhutto was invited to visit Dacca. Bhutto’s interaction with Bangladesh during the period had a single motive: to erode the political and strategic objectives achieved by India in the 1971 war. In the process he sought to revive the Islamic consciousness in Bangladesh. In private conversations, he is reported to have told his senior party advisers that India might have created Bangladesh, but he would see that India would have to deal with not one, but two Pakistans, one in the west and another in the east.

A digression here would reveal the accuracy of his assessment of the Bangladeshi psyche and also his capacity to achieve maximum domestic
impact. During his visit to Dacca in July 1974, the roads from Tejgaon airport to his guest house were chock-a-block with the citizenry. It was not a hostile crowd, given that this very people had bayed for his blood in 1971. Being the acting high commissioner for India, I was in the reception line. When I was introduced, he shook hands with me and turned to Mujib and then producing something between a statement and a query said: “Now that we are rearranging subcontinental geography according to the wishes of the people, Mr Dixit, I suppose you and I could talk about settling the Kashmir issue accordingly.” The subject he raised was indicative of his thinking. The occasion he chose and the person to whom he spoke were inappropriate except as an attempt to satirise Mujib and his attitude towards India. What followed was profoundly significant and an indication of the shape of things to come.

As the motorcade moved out, Mujib’s car was decorated with garlands of chappals and anti-Awami League slogans were shouted together with slogans such as: “Bhutto Zindabad”, and “Bangladesh-Pakistan Friendship Zindabad”. The diplomatic motorcade followed the main motorcade and as my car reached the junction where the road turns left to the Intercontinental Hotel and the government guest house, the crowd, recognising the Indian flag, shook and jostled my car and shouted anti- India slogans. I returned to my office chastened and ruminating about the twists of history and politics.

Earlier, in the United Nations General Assembly session in 1972—on Pakistan’s instigation and of course on the basis of its own calculations—China had vetoed Bangladesh’s admission to the UN. Bangladesh was admitted after its contacts with Pakistan were established. But the story does not end there. Apropos of Bhutto’s machinations, Bangladeshis were keen he pay homage at the Martyrs’ memorial at Sawar with formal military ceremony. Bhutto was most reluctant. The ceremony was to be held on Friday afternoon, so he first delayed going there, saying that being a devout Muslim he had to offer Friday prayers and therefore he could not go at the scheduled time. However, he could not withstand Bangladesh’s insistence and proceeded there late in the afternoon, not in the formal attire appropriate for the occasion but in casual clothes with a golfing cap, to place a wreath. He said that his going was conditional on no military ceremony being held. According to reports no military ceremony was held.

There were three results of Bhutto’s visit to Bangladesh that had an impact on Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh relations. He persuaded Mujib to reabsorb into the Bangladeshi military and civil services those Bangladeshi officers who had not endorsed the freedom movement, some of whom were still returning from Pakistan and other places. Second, he sowed the seeds for the revival of the Islamic character of the Bangladeshi polity by advising Mujib that now that he was free, he should gradually reclaim his country’s Islamic identity to consolidate his domestic political position as well as counter excessive influence by India. Third, he told Mujib that to balance India’s influence and to retain Bangladesh’s freedom of options, a good equation with Pakistan would be both relevant and necessary. Mujib’s actions and policies from 1974 and till his assassination in 1975 indicate that his words were not ignored.

I can post JN Dixit's chapter on the web or by email if some of you want to read. There may be some copyright issues with this, but what the heck JN Dixit's book is a gem that deflates many balloons. Having written many articles myself, I can sense that JN D would be approving of this from his grave if I said "Please publicize his work more." Unofficial soft copies are my responsibility -- I take the blame. Email standuude AT yahoo com

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 01 Mar 2009 15:24

>>Mrs IG was livid at RAW for being surprised at the coup against Mujib Ur Rehman. So there is track record of sleeping on the job .

This is bullshit. But such stories are OK, and even to be encouraged.

>>Hadnt Kao himself gone to warn Mujib about a impending coup?

Yes he had. IIRC cover identity as a betel-nut exporter

- at least according to media reports - I could be mixing up the betel-nut thing with another visit he made there.

PS - I second Stan, read Dixit's book. It is a must read for every BRFite.

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 01 Mar 2009 15:54

3. On 22nd there was supposed to be a joint BDR-BSF March Past. BSF pulled out without showing any cause and at the last moment, any idea as to why?

Is this bloke suggesting that India knew about the mutiny and is he suggesting an Indian link?

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 01 Mar 2009 16:02

Sheik Mujib was no angel.

He was a communalist and steeped in Islamic zeal.

He joined the Bengal Muslim League in 1943 and grew close to the faction led by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a leading Bengali Muslim leader. During this period, Mujib worked actively for the League's cause of a separate Muslim state of Pakistan and in 1946

Mujib was one of the Muslim politicians working under Suhrawardy during the communal violence that broke out in Calcutta, in 1946, just before the partition of India.

It is just that Mujib and India in 1971 was mutually beneficial.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 16:02

RayC wrote:
3. On 22nd there was supposed to be a joint BDR-BSF March Past. BSF pulled out without showing any cause and at the last moment, any idea as to why?
Is this bloke suggesting that India knew about the mutiny and is he suggesting an Indian link?

Thats a Bangladeshi's posting elsewhere. More precisely, from
http://bdosintmonitors.blogspot.com/
So take it for all its worth -- as in start putting your conspiracy theory cap on. In normal times, such postings here are anathema, but wrt BD, its an abnormal time. So lets filter the crap from the real news.

If you read BD forums, they are pissed with ToI for the article where Saka Chowdhury and his paki connection was brought out. They are pissed with the Indian dhimmedia for a different reason. It all looks like RAW/ISI conspiracy to them -- SAAG has become RAW's propaganda tool

. In all this, they cant figure out the devil within the house, good luck to them. The more BD evolves, the more it looks like pakisatan junior.

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 01 Mar 2009 16:18

Though OT, the first hand account how Mujib was arrested!.

Blow by blow!

http://www.defencejournal.com/sept98/wayitwas1.htm

Gives an idea how these chaps operate!

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 17:45

Can somebody translate this piece from Bengali? I guess it makes some connections of the six sued to BNP.
http://www.bangladeshnews24.com/bhorerk ... ws0374.php

In the meanwhile,

A police officer last night filed a case against more than 1,000 members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on charge of having ties to the mutiny at Pilkhana. Lalbagh police chief Nabo Jyoti Khisa filed the case. According to the case details, four deputy assistant directors (DAD), a sepoy and a BDR personnel led the revolt that left at least 64 army officers killed.

The suspected ringleaders are DADs Touhidul Alam, Nasiruddin Khan, Mirza Habibur Rahman, Abdul Jalil, sepoy Md Selim and BDR member Abdur Rahim.

Nabo Jyoti alleged that the accused people killed the officers and their relatives in a planned way. The police officer accused the BDR men of taking hostages, committing arsons and hiding dead bodies. Accused Abdul Jalil was now undergoing treatment at the Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College and Hospital in the capital.

He was part of the 14-member team that met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday to vent their demands. Md Nowsher Ali, joint commissioner (crime) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, who has been supervising the case, told The Daily Star that the six suspects were identified in the primary investigation. He said further investigations would identify the rest.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/l ... ?nid=15332

It turns out that DAD, Touhidul Alam was a part of the team that was on UN mission to Ivory Coast recently.
http://www.police.gov.bd/index5.php?category=210
I can also find the name of Abdur Rahim there, but there could be 1000 people in BD with the same name. Was it a case of I enjoyed my benefits, you too should to instigate the cadre?!

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 21:05

Another reason that BD is going the pakisatan way... the encirclement of India continues.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/l ... ?nid=15337

PM seeks FBI help to investigate BDR mutiny

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today sought help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States to find out the ringleaders of the bloodshed at the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana. She sought the assistance during a telephone conversation with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher this morning, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

During the phone talk, the prime minister observed that the February 25-26 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) incident might be part of a “conspiracy”. She sought assistance of the FBI in the investigation to dig out real culprits and mete out appropriate punishment to them. The US embassy in a statement said Boucher, on behalf of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, telephoned Hasina to express continued support for the Bangladesh government and its people.

Boucher lauded the government’s efforts to assist the survivors, honour those who were killed, and bring those guilty to justice. He stressed the importance of national unity during this crucial time and encouraged all Bangladeshis to work together to overcome this “national tragedy”. The senior state department official emphasized, in particular, the importance of cooperation between the government and the opposition to resolve the crisis.

He reiterated the United States’ willingness to extend “all possible assistance to the government”. Commander the US Pacific Command Admiral Timothy Keating, meanwhile, wrote to Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed on February 28 to express condolences for the loss of life.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/n ... ?nid=77953
Import, export thru' Benapole resume

A source in the C&F Staff Welfare Association said the workers stopped import and export following a recent announcement that the driver concerned would not get bail if anybody is killed in a road accident in the area. Panic gripped the drivers and helpers of the trucks at Benapole in Bangladesh side and Petrapole in India as Black Cat commandoes and additional BSF troops carrying heavy weapons were deployed in Petrapole port area.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/n ... ?nid=77977

Export-import between Bangladesh and India through Sonamasjid land port in Chapainawabganj resumed yesterday. The activities at the port came to a halt on Thursday following BDR mutiny at its headquarters in Dhaka. With resumption of the activities, around 220 goods-laden trucks that were stranded at Mohodipur in India entered Bangladesh. Trucks carrying goods from Bangladesh also started entering India, said Jahangir Hossain, manager of Sonamasjid-Panama Port Link Limited.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 01 Mar 2009 21:22

Another reason that BD is going the pakisatan way...

This BD admin?

the encirclement of India continues.

One cannot sit idle and then complain.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Mar 2009 21:29

its an education to me that Mujib was a 'soft' islamist and used indian help merely to fix his bigger enemy and consolidate his power!

my expectations of a "founding father" had been based around what I read of our own founding fathers like rajendra prasad, sardar patel, J nehru and c.rajagopalachari......perhaps the wrong yardstick to use

among 3rd world colonies coming off the yoke..we truly had a astonishingly
high quality and ethical cadre of founding fathers in a ability and character.
we are kinda unique among all former colonies in that respect. the temptation not to build institutions but take shortcuts is always so strong in any "startup environment" - delivers some sort of result quicker, enriches onself more etc etc.

thank you dear lord for birthing me in assam and not 200 miles either way in BD or tibet.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 01 Mar 2009 21:58

singha ji, within a fortnight of BD's independence mujib started making noises like "BD will never tolerate occupation armies on its soil" and so on, with thinly veiled references to IA.

g.sarkar · Post by **g.sarkar** » 01 Mar 2009 23:38

RayC wrote:Sheik Mujib was no angel.
He was a communalist and steeped in Islamic zeal.
He joined the Bengal Muslim League in 1943 and grew close to the faction led by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a leading Bengali Muslim leader. During this period, Mujib worked actively for the League's cause of a separate Muslim state of Pakistan and in 1946
Mujib was one of the Muslim politicians working under Suhrawardy during the communal violence that broke out in Calcutta, in 1946, just before the partition of India.
It is just that Mujib and India in 1971 was mutually beneficial.

Raybabu,
Unfortunately, there are no "angels" in Bangladesh. I am related by marriage to a Bangladeshi and have had contacts to many Bangladeshi here in the US. From them I gather that Mujib ultimately was a fool that let his guard down and allowed power to go to his head. He always promoted corrupt cronies over more competent people. He took instantenous Tughlaki decisions that were not planned properly. This turned everybody against him. In the end he had no friends left. Even his supporters did not mourn him in the US. My relative tells me (and he belongs to the majority community in Bangladesh) that the mass migration of Hindus and the killings of educated people in Bangladesh by the Pakistanis has left the country without much talent. Only, "low class" (his words) people have survived and prospered. They have no culture, background or education. Only a generation back these people were plain peasants and beggars. They are now in top, becoming officers in the army and their uncles are ambassadors in the different capitals of the world. They are ready to sell themselves to anyone for a small sum of money. He relates an incident of a failed coup started by the BD airforce that was financed by Col. Gaddafi for just 5 million dollars. Right now money is flowing into Bangladesh from Saudi Arabia and given to Islamic parties. The result can be seen in the streets with girls in hijab and men in flowing beards. With the Hindus gone from their land, they have only to bite each other in fraustration and blame India for all their misfortunes. The last point is very important. Most Bangladeshis that I know hate themselves and their country, and when they see India's prosperity they hate India with a singlemindedness. India should stay out of their affair, as whatever they did, they will be blamed for BDs state of affairs. India has nothing to gain there. Build the fence around BD even a meter higher than that has planned and keep them away.
Gautam

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 23:39

Sh. Hasina uvacha

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday said in parliament that her 50-day-old government focused more on saving thousands of innocent civilian lives while dealing with the Feb 25-26 mutiny, which she said was "completely pre-planned massacre". "I decided to talk myself ... I'd talk with anyone, I thought, to save lives, to save the families, to save the soldiers," she said, replying to charges that she made a tactical mistake by not using force.

In her first public remarks since the speech Thursday, she said she did not "waste a single moment" before taking steps and recalled that the rebels were "threatening to shoot anyone" in case of a move to use force. "You must surrender, release the hostages, release the officers," Hasina quoted herself as telling the 14 BDR men she had negotiations with on Wednesday just hours into the crisis. "That's why these families survived ... these little children survived. {This is hiding behind what was saved and forgetting what was lost}

"What else could we have done?" She said: "This is unprecedented that we have been able to end such a mutiny and the hostage crisis at such a short time." "This was completely pre-planned murder," she said. "I won't say anything now, since the investigation is on," the prime minister said as she referred to those "who organised cars, boats to help them flee".

Phone conversation with Gen Shakil

The prime minister disclosed for the first time she had talked on the phone with the slain BDR chief Shakil Ahmed, who she said she knew personally. "He is first cousin of one of our MPs (from Brahmanbaria)." "Gen Shakil told me: 'we are under attack, being shot at'." Hasina said she ordered immediate action, asked army and RAB to rush. Her military adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, a former major general, first broke the news to Hasina at around 9:30 am and then called the army chief.

"How long would it take? I asked the army chief. (I was told) it'd take one to two hours," she said. "We talked to air force. RAB was late, said they got stuck in traffic. "The rebels meanwhile were threatening to kill anyone who would try to advance towards them. "We called Shakil again, several times, but there was no answer," the prime minister said of the first minutes. "I called the three chiefs to a meeting."

No mercy for killers

"Now they are nitpicking," she retorted, replying to opposition leader Khaleda Zia's charge that amnesty decision was wrong and that use of force would be a better option. "The amnesty will not apply to those who killed, arsoned, looted. {Amnesty in BD is offered by the president, not PM like Sh. Hasina did. These doofuses first of all believed that the amnesty would have legal sanction.} "We do not spare killers. They have the record of not trying killers. "Her husband (slain president general Ziaur Rahman) did not try the killers (of August 15, 1975). "He rewarded the killers instead. He gave them diplomatic jobs."

Past killings

"What happened in 1977? How many military officers got killed?" she said, speaking of the 21 coups and counter-coups Bangladesh has witnessed in its 38-year history. "As many as 565 air force officers were killed by hanging in one incident." "So many of those who actively took part in the liberation war were killed.

US-UN help sought

The prime minister said she had already sought assistance from the US and UN to probe the BDR murders. She told parliament Sunday that she had asked a senior US official for helping with the investigation into the incidents that saw 135 army officers killed or missing. "I have had discussions with (assistant secretary of state) Richard Boucher today (Sunday). I told him I want FBI assistance in the probe," the prime minister said. "I'd also like Scotland Yard (of the UK) to help us, and I have already sought UN support," she said.

No provocations, please

The prime minister stressed that all other institutions such as the armed forces, RAB, police, Ansars, VDP must maintain discipline. "They must not respond to any provocation. They must learn from this incident," she said. "They must beware of those who wanted to benefit politically."

Monument for mutiny victims

The prime minister promised a monument to the mutiny martyrs. "All the names of those who died will be there." The families each will get Tk 10 lakh from the government, she said, in addition to the army's Tk 5 lakh. The children will get free education.

Meeting with army officers

Referring to her meeting at the Sena Kunja earlier in the day, she said she had wanted to listen. "I am an elected representative of the people, I am the prime minister, I am the defence minister, I am the daughter of the Father of Nation ... I told them I'd listen," she said of her decision to go to the Dhaka cantonment and meet hundreds of emotion-charged officers. Of the dead, she said: "Many of them were known to us. Our own relatives. Even five of my daughter's in-laws were killed."

She did not disclose what she heard during nearly three hours with the military officers, but said "what I heard there has been echoed here in parliament" in a clear reference to Khaleda Zia's statements that preceded hers.

http://bdnews24.com/

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Mar 2009 23:45

Can someone translate this from Bengali and post the main gist of the complaint?
This is the complaint filed in the court (against "1000" Bdr cadre and 6 specific people).
http://www.bdnews24.com/upfile/BDR.pdf
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/n ... ?nid=78084

Most of the BDR Jawaans who killed the army officers during the BDR mutiny were quite young and most of the killings were carried out and over between 10:30 to 11:00 am, immediately after the chaos started at Darbar Hall at the BDR headquarters. This eyewitness account of that fateful day came from a survivor officer, Lt. Colonel Shams, commander of Battalion-44, as he recounted what he saw in an interview published in several newspapers.

Lt Col Shams said when the Director General of BDR Shakil Ahmed was delivering his speech at the Darbar, a Jawan aimed an SMG rifle at the DG and he (Lt Col Shams) jumped up and pushed this man over, who was visibly unable to fire and was trembling as he approached the DG. As a chaos ensued, the army officers were sent out to calm down the Jawaans who had left the hall. Once outside, Lt Col Shams noticed a group of young Jawans, all firing their guns approaching the Darbar Hall from gate number 5. During the mayhem that followed, some BDR JCO from battalion 44, including Subeder Saiful, Siraj and Ismail, told Shams that the situation was out of control and helped him escape the scene, taking him to their quarters at Al Beruni Bhaban.

As he was escaping, Lt Col Shams saw a grey-coloured pick-up approaching the Darbar Hall from the gate number 5, apparently loaded with boxes of ammunition. Shams said that he had never seen such a pickup used in either the BDR or the army. By the time he had reached Al Beruni Bhaban, he could hear the sound of firing at the Darbar hall. "It was between 10:30 am to 11:00 am and I assume most of the officers were killed during that time," he said in the interview.

"The Jawans took me to their house and told me that my life would be in no danger as long as they were alive. They took off my badge and uniform and gave me clothes to wear. I hid in that house for the next two days,' the Lt Col said. "Whenever any rebelling Jawans came near the house to search, I would hide in the floor compartment of a box bed," Shams said expressing his gratitude to those who saved his life at such a time. During the evening of February 25, Shams said he saw cleaners going into the Darbar Hall with cloths and he also recalls seeing ambulances going there and he realised that these people were going to clean up the place and remove the bodies of the officers killed.

Though the rebels had at the beginning announced over microphones that they had enough ammunition to continue to fight for six months, the next morning (Thursday) they began to call on all not to misuse the bullets. Lt Col Shams said that the situation inside the BDR headquarters seemed to calm down on February 26 following the prime minister's speech that was aired on television. "The prime minister's speech worked like a wonder. The tension seemed to ease. Groups of Jawans started surrendering arms following the speech," the Lt Col said in the interview.

Shams said that most of the Jawans appeared gloomy to him, following the prime minister's speech. Shams also saw many Jawans fleeing the BDR headquarters in civil clothes on the second day of the mutiny.

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 01 Mar 2009 23:47

Rahul M could help!

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 02 Mar 2009 00:35

Singha wrote:thank you dear lord for birthing me in assam and not 200 miles either way in BD or tibet.

Amen. Specially since Assam in 1947 included the eastern parts of BD along with present-day 7-sister states and almost became a part of pakistan/BD but for stalwarts like Gopinath Bordoloi. Unfortunately, we could not save Chittagong, an enduring human and geographic tragedy, both for the native Chakmas and for India. BD still has names like "Barua" & "Bhuyian", which are old Ahom titles.

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 02 Mar 2009 00:53

Nesoj wrote:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page= ... =691080690
Photos -
WARNING : DO NOT click link unless your prepared to see real Graphical Images

It is really sad.... one should never want this to happen to even the worst of one's enemies

This person has apparently lost his own blood relations in this incident. others leaving comments on his pics too have lost their own.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 02 Mar 2009 01:31

MR was deeply involved in ML politics. His relations with Suhrawardy needs to be carefully explored as Suhrawardy was instrumental in the Calcutta rioting. MR continued his adulation of Suhrawardy after the Partition and after the formation of BD. India used MR, and MR used India. However, old "Calcuttans" might recall certain stories about the murder of a certain artiste on the eve of the riots and the Partition, who apparently squealed to the IB about ML plans to create carnage - ML and MR as part of ML were very keen to have Calcutta and Surma Valley included in Pakistan. Their calculation was basically that they would dominate Pakistan once it formed. The language issue was more a leftist and independent inspired spontaneous popular movement (dominated by the remnant communists who organized it from behind to a certain extent) whose potential was realized by the astute MR as a mobilizing force.

But his inherited basic mistrust of the "Hindu India" made him amenable to influences by the Islamic component of the AL offshoot of ML and folowers of M.Vasani. His vacillation and leaning on the shoulders of UK, was a sign of his urge to balance India and his original realization of the basic contradiction of purpose between India and Pakistan or any parts thereof.

Atish · Post by **Atish** » 02 Mar 2009 02:58

Brihaspati, why speak like GOI, name the artist.

Atish.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 02 Mar 2009 03:54

Atishji,
Can't go too deep here. Look for "Haren Ghatak" - the trainer and accompanyist to the lady concerned where a certain pair of gents used to go for relaxation. Again this is just a story - but from impeccable sources. Please do not ask for more and we will close here.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 02 Mar 2009 06:00

IAF on stand-by, ready to help Bangladesh

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 02 Mar 2009 08:40

Gautam,

While what you write makes sense, yet realpolitik and geo strategy does not permit India to stand aloof.

Even in the case of Sri Lanka, even though the Indian govt has totally backed the SL govt action, yet India has aksed for a pause (contrary to what the SL govt wants) because of realpolitik!

My late maternal Uncle was an MNA in Bangladesh. His family continues to stay there, though I will confess that he is of the highest caste! They are from Gopalnagar, Pabna and I am from Barisal!

I have lived in East Pakistan.

g.sarkar · Post by **g.sarkar** » 02 Mar 2009 09:26

RayC wrote:Gautam,
While what you write makes sense, yet realpolitik and geo strategy does not permit India to stand aloof. Even in the case of Sri Lanka, even though the Indian govt has totally backed the SL govt action, yet India has aksed for a pause (contrary to what the SL govt wants) because of realpolitik! My late maternal Uncle was an MNA in Bangladesh. His family continues to stay there, though I will confess that he is of the highest caste! They are from Gopalnagar, Pabna and I am from Barisal! I have lived in East Pakistan.

Raybabu,
Barisal, eh? So, most probably RayC is Rai Choudhuri in Bengali. That means Zamindar class, of which there were so many in Barishal and Mymensingh before 1947. Actually in my last stay, I purchased a Bengali cookbook in Calcutta by Renuka Devi Choudhurani formerly of East Bengal for the fish preparations, which it had plenty, may be a relation? But that is going too much Off Topic.
No Sir, I am not saying that India should stand aloof at all. Bangladesh is squarely in India's sphere of influence and we should engage in many ways. My opinion was that eventhough it is humane to feel sorry for a neighbors plight, Bangladeshis are not Indians. They are only slightly better than Pakistanis. They are being purchased by the lowest payment (just plain good old money) by US and Saudi. India should do the same and from time to time apply danda to show who is the boss. This will keep them in check. Somehow, most Indians get emotional with BD due to Indira Gandhi, FM Sam Manekshaw, Gen Aurora and Seikh Mujib and the good old days. Unfortunately, the Bangladeshis that I meet are squarely anti Indian. And look at the whole situation with very sober eyes. During my contacts with Bangladeshis here in the US I have met a few military lal-fite types (Lt.cols, Sq. leaders etc) that came to the US for military training, and I was not impressed. This class is will sell themselves to the highest bidder. Right now going through the BD newspapers you can easily see that they are blaming India and RAW for their troubles. Check the editorial in Naya Diganta for example.
Regards,
Gautam

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 02 Mar 2009 09:40

Mujib changed his color pretty fast after the 1971 war. So called secular BongoBandhu
started quoting from Koran in every public speech after becoming the first PM of the
newly liberated country. hed "pardoned" many who committed grave crimes. And he overlooked the leeches that surrounded him. His two older sons became nuisance. One of them, a great womaniser, eloped with young army officer Maj Dalim's wife, and spent a weekend at London. When maj. Dalim went in person to complain to Mujib against his son, BongoBandhu suggested him to forgive and forget. ... Eventually maj Dalim took revenge by pumping bullets on Mujib's body. ..... all part of history now.

........
More serious issue now. A source - who was a student at Dhaka U and shuttled between
Rajshahi U and Dhaka U regularly a couple of years back, warned that what has happened to BDR is slowly creeping in BDA also. Some student union leaders who were/are active in union, and secretly members of Jamaat, used to make spreadsheet on annual BDA recruitments
and making lists of what percentage are with Jamaat, who are fence sitters, etc. Apparently
these student union leaders were in constant touch with their counterparts in other universities to create a time-series profile of nationwide BDA recruits with Jamaat leaning.....

This source's own assessment: Though Hasina is a bit confused now on what to do with
the situation, this is a golden opportunity to purge the security establishments of jihadi
elements. Mid & above level BDA officers are with Hasina now, and the nation's sympathy
will help undertake the purge.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 02 Mar 2009 09:54

I had another hypothesis on the possible cause for this mayhem. Who stands to gain the most by this destruction? The BDA loses some of its top-layer three-star and four-star cadre. Somehow self-infliction of damage to such a terrible extent does nt sound very likely to me. The BDR causes much damage and also causes a huge mess to its name and reputation -- somuchso that whatever sustenance it could make from cross-border smuggling etc is also gone. While there are whines within the BDR about how much money they have NOT been making, it should be noted that this whine is a relative whine. Relative to how much the BDA is making. Compared with civil society in BD, BDR is relatively well-off by a large margin. So if someone wanted to whine about a relative perks problem, would they go around killing a whole bunch of people to make politicians realize how serious they are. Would you burn the house to drive a machhar out?

Apart from the Razakars who else could have gained? Someone who could fill in the void when BDR is disbanded perhaps. Given that BDA and BDR are the only notable choices for manning the borders, and if BDR were to be disbanded, who could take their place? The army -- not possible without an agreement with India. The RAB?! - a rag-tag bunch of professional enforcers in all but name. The RAB is notorious for being involved in regular "cross-fires" where they kill people they dont like. The mayhem caused on BDA is the act of a professional mafia -- in BD that should perhaps sound eerily close to RAB than any other organization. The RAB was also in the news recently because of low-level Jamaat infiltration. And the reason they gave for not coming on time was "RAB was late, said they got stuck in traffic." And when they did land up along with BDA, their job was to safeguard the perimeter and not let BDR folks escape. Yet what we have seen is that at least ~3k BDR folks escaped. That would be possible only when the security apparatus is weak -- willingly or unwillingly. It is dumb to expect the BDA lose its top cadre and also allow the perpetrators escape. So who could it have been?

Rudradev · Post by **Rudradev** » 02 Mar 2009 10:40

Stan,

You should have email from me. Thanks again for the stellar BD reportage... very critical at this time.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 02 Mar 2009 10:53

Stan_Savljevic wrote:
Avinash R wrote: This is the channel to watch for as it has good sources. Right now there is a program on the mutiny in bangladesh.
What did Aaj Tak say? Please post in the bd thread

Stan the discussion was about the real causes of mutiny, maybe pay issue or was it pre planned. Most of them pointed at some sections of bdr as the cause of this crisis. Maloy dhar on headlines today mentioned many places in BD as the strongholds of JI. One of the place was sylhet. Interestingly sylhet is the also the place were some mutineers were being pursued by the BD army and they wanted to cross over to india to save their lives.

And the hindu report also mentions some sections in bdr planned this while other tried to protect bd army officers and not all of bdr were responsible for the massacres. Most of the mutineers knew what would happen and have cleared out, now only the bdr personnel not involved are left to face the anger of the bd army, who want revenge for the death of their comrades.

Conspiracy theory in BDR mutiny - The Hindu

Dhaka: As the full horrors of Bangladesh Rifles mutiny unravel, a conspiracy theory is gradually taking shape with survivors and security analysts saying it was a “planned killing” aimed at “crippling” the army and BDR in a country that has just returned to democracy.

“It was a planned killing,” Army doctor Lt. Col. Abdus Salam, who survived the massacre, told reporters at the Army headquarters at a special briefing. He also asserted that only a section of the rebel soldiers was involved in the massacre.

“Never ... definitely not all of them [the rebels] were culprits. Many BDR soldiers tried to protect us [Army officers serving in BDR] risking their own lives,” he said. The 33-hour mutiny is feared to have claimed the lives of at least 135 officers.

Most security analysts, including former chiefs and Generals in unison also declined to call the massacre inside BDR headquarters “a mere mutiny”, putting their weight behind the growing fears about a conspiracy.

The analysts feared that a particular quarter chalked out the plan to kill all senior Army officers serving in the BDR as they gathered at the paramilitary force’s headquarters to celebrate the annual BDR Week. — PTI

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Mar 2009 10:58

Stan and others also look at Nightwatch site. They have regular coverage of whats happening in BD.

http://www.afcea.org/mission/intel/nightwatch.asp

Says in March 1, report that it was a coup attempt.