Bangladesh:Gunfight at BDR headquarters

[eastwatch]

Maybe you were in hurry to read me. I said, russia will provide us buffer from any aggression from China. Are you crazy in your comments about Bhutan and Nepal? ... and Mate, check the map again and tell me one reason i will open a front via BD!!! ..... i just need BD to sit tight and not back stab me (thats all!).

Why do you think that way about Nepal and Bhutan? Even if you spend $20b in these two countries to develop their communications infrastructures it will be of no help to India in times of war in the NE. In such a war with China, India has no room to fall behind because BD will keep its border closed for IA. Just think what will happen if a column or two of Chinese troops march south to your 'chicken neck' through your (?) Sikkim and Gorkhaland/Darjeeling area when heavy war is continuing in Arunachal. Indian army will be trapped in its own land even if BD remains neutral. Nepalese weak infrastructure will not give India any respite.

Chinese army has the strength to close a rope tightly around the 'Chicken Neck.' This will make India gasp for air. All your divisions in the NE, without getting supplies from the west of BD will be roasted alive by the Chinese. And all these things will happen even if BD remains neutral and do not back stab its friendly neighbour called India.

China very well understands the scenerio and also understands the geopolitical importance of BD. That is why they keep on selling high class armaments to BD at 'Friendship price' to woo that country. Indian strategists also understand this dillema, but depends too much on their ego and probably on the soothsaying astrologers. How pathetic that the disciples of Kautilla have become so void of MAGZ.

One small information. BD army has already placed thousand of land mines along the border with your 'Chicken neck' and hundreds of our tanks will be readily deployed behind that line in time of a war in the NE so that the IA troops do not fall back there to regroup and re-organize.

**Sorry, somehow the thread has been derailed.

 

[leonblack08]

One small information. BD army has already placed thousand of land mines along the border with your 'Chicken neck' and hundreds of our tanks will be readily deployed behind that line in time of a war in the NE so that the IA troops do not fall back there to regroup and re-organize.

**Sorry, somehow the thread has been derailed.

One question sir.

Bangladesh Army does not use land mines,they destroyed their stocks few years ago.
Are you talking about Anti-tank mines?Then I think your information is correct.We don't use anti-personnel mines.

 

[leonblack08]

Bangladesh military should have stormed the BDR HQ to stop mutiny-according to military manual of Bangladesh​

The last time I said this on this thread,a fellow Bangladeshi member here accused me of spreading AL's lies and as usual called me an "Indian Stooge".(???) (But who cares what people like him calls me.)

The reason that people responsible for BDR mutiny trial does not want the trial to be conducted in martial court because then top Generals like COAS M U Ahmad will also have to be under trial for not stopping the mutiny.
The punishment for it is DEATH.

As the punishment for mutiny is death,the punishment for not doing anything to stop it is also death.this is according to 1952 army act,article 31.

According to Article 31 (kha) if any one, who is responsible for stopping a mutiny but he does not do his best to stop it,it is a crime.

In this case former COAS,9th Infantry division and 46th infantry division are responsible for the failure.They can be tried according to article 31 (Kha).

According to article 31 (ga) if anyone aware of possible mutiny but does nothing to stop it,its a crime.
In this case RSB,DGFI,NSI chiefs would be in trouble.

 

[leonblack08]

A mutiny should always be crushed no matter what.And as for turning it into civil war,it could have.But there are some questions.

1.BDR personnel around the country were not even aware of what was going on in Dhaka,until our glorious media portrayed the rebels as heroes.

2.Majority BDR personnel did not even want to join their hand in the carnage,but was forced by the small group of actual killers.

3.To wage a civil war,there had to be some kind of unity among the rebels.But according to surviving army officers,there was no sign of it.Everyone was acting as leaders.

But this facts came up after the carnage was over.May be COAS thought they were united and a force of 65000 men could turn Bangladesh into Iraq.
In addition,people nearby were showing support for rebels,this was probably another factor for not going for an attack.We later came to know these were men of AL leader Torab Ali.Who was arrested but surprisingly the Govt. investigation report does not mention his name.

Our commerce minister gave excuse that there would be collateral damage.May be,but then why do we have special forces in the army?
Why weren't the tanks called in on the very first day?They could have made it by afternoon at least.

 

[eastwatch]

One question sir.

Bangladesh Army does not use land mines,they destroyed their stocks few years ago.
Are you talking about Anti-tank mines?Then I think your information is correct.We don't use anti-personnel mines.

Thanks for the information. Land mines are there, but it could be anti-tank and not anti-personnel mines, I guess.

 

[leonblack08]

Mutiny trial not possible under army act: Kamal, Amir​

Dr Kamal Hossain and Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam
Star Online Report
Amici Curiae Dr Kamal Hossain and Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam today told the Supreme Court that trial of the BDR personnel who mutinied in February was not possible under the military law.

They suggested that the Army Act 1952 was applicable only to army personnel. The border guards standing accused of crimes during the February 25-26 mutiny could not be tried under the law, they added.

They gave their statements to the apex court on the presidential reference on the trial mode of the bloody mutiny.

On August 25, Amicus Curiae Advocate TH Khan placed the same opinion.

Meanwhile, Amici Curiae Barrister Rafique-Ul Huq and Advocate Khandaker Mahbubuddin Ahmed on August 26 opined that the accused BDR personnel could be tried under military law by issuing notifications.

The 11-member full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin, heard the opinions.

In the written statement submitted to the apex court, Dr Kamal said, "The Bangladesh Army Act, 1952, in Section 2 defines the persons who are subject to the Act. The BDR personnel do not fall within the definition of Section 2 of the Army Act".

"The second question to be answered is by reference to Section 5 of the Act. While under Section 5, by a notification, the Army Act could be extended to members of a disciplined force raised and maintained by the government. But under the existing law, such a notification cannot have retrospective effect", he added.

He said, "Therefore, since the question addressed to the court is whether the Army Act can by notification be applied to the BDR personnel meaning those who are alleged to be involved in commission of offence on February 25 and 26, the answer is that this cannot be done given retrospective effect".

"The problem, therefore, has to be squarely faced by through investigation to identify those responsible, and by effective prosecution to bring them to justice, for which the responsibility is that of the Executive branch of the state," he said, adding that the Appellate Division as the highest judiciary has been called upon to answer the questions under the existing law.

Amir-Ul Islam said a combined law should be enacted to try the BDR mutineers, as different offences including killing, looting and torture took place during the Pilkhana carnage.

"If the BDR incidents are tried under the court martial that will be judicial killing in the name of trial like the trial of Ziaur Rahman murder case," he said.

The Daily Star - Details News

 

[eastwatch]

BDR Rebellion and Pilkhana Massacre
by Tanim Ahmed , 4-March-2009

[Blog]
This is certainly not the first time that there has been a rebellion within the armed forces. There have many such incidents before. But this rebellion was far different—both in context and goal.

What does one do when one hand harms the other? What does one do when one limb threatens the body itself? It becomes all the more complicated when one symbol of sovereignty defiles another. Vigilant sentinels of our national frontier, as their motto goes, the Bangladesh Rifles is indeed the country’s first line of defence. That they are has been proven beyond doubt on many occasions in the past. They fought with valour and honour and repelled foreign forces even when they were highly outnumbered. It is not just the sacrifice of rifles men for the sake of their country but also their dedication towards protecting the country’s frontiers that has earned them respect.

Some of these dedicated soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles rebelled against their officers on February 25. The rebellion broke out during an open meeting, durbar, of the BDR director general, Major General Shakil Ahmed. The occasion was scheduled as part of the BDR Week observance at the border guards’ headquarters at Pilkhana in the heart of Dhaka. As it has transpired from testimonies of surviving officers, the rebellion began with execution of army officers attending the meeting. During their siege of Pilkhana, 71 people, including 56 army officers, were killed. The mayhem that went on for about those 33 hours left the entire nation in shock.

There are no two ways to describe the incidents that occurred at Pilkhana for those two days. They were horrifying. It was not just a group of soldiers that rebelled against their officers and ended up killing them in random shooting. The acts that followed were even more horrendous. Groups of BDR soldiers were reported to have entered officers’ family quarters within several hours of the initial shootout. Soldiers reportedly plundered at will — and these are not necessarily the same group of soldiers that carried out the killings. Valuables were looted, children killed and internal reports had it that women were also raped. The death toll of officers kept increasing and by late afternoon reports from the Field Security Unit indicated that between 30 and 60 officers might have been killed. The acts that went on behind those walls of Pilkhana, in the vast compound of the BDR headquarters, right in the heart of Dhaka, left the nation stunned.

One of the keepers of this country’s sovereignty had turned against another and turned against its own. That this is a grave situation is an understatement. That this is a national crisis is but obvious. Perhaps more importantly, the events of those two days have left the entire country in a vulnerable position that it has seldom been in. The army officers, still stationed with BDR units, were naturally told to fall back to their nearest cantonments or station headquarters. As other sector headquarters of the border guards rose in rebellion along with a number of units stationed across the country, Bangladesh’s border security was severely compromised and remained so for an uncomfortably long time. One only hopes that the border outposts have become effectively functional within the week.

It is possible that this was the result of a deep-rooted conspiracy. It is possible that this was the act of outside forces. Till such time that ulterior motives are established and hypotheses of outside instigation are proven, one does not have much to go on other than the points that the rebels raised as their demands. A 50-point list of demands and complaints was given out to the press on the evening of February 25. This list was apparently submitted to the BDR chief to be handed over to the prime minister the previous day when Sheikh Hasina addressed the soldiers.

The demands and complaints of the list, if they are genuine, suggest that there is sufficient reason for grievances and discontent among the soldiers. Besides the allegation of corruption by senior officers, the complaints of their treatment at the hands of officers and the discrimination they face as a paramilitary force compared to the military personnel in other forces evidently provide for genuine grounds to complain. These also need to be investigated and there must be some sort of parity among the benefits and salary of soldiers of same ranks in all forces.

It may have been that some officers were responsible for further fuelling the soldiers’ discontent. It is possible that this discontent, pent up for long, finally burst out. But the manner in which this discontent found expression is absolutely deplorable. There were surely several other means to express their dissatisfaction and raise their demands than through brutal violence that the soldiers had adopted. Also, the institutional discrimination, lower wages, fewer resources, poorer logistics and facilities were not entirely a matter of the officers’ discretion.

Subsequent governments, elected, dictatorial, military or quasi-military, have all maintained the discriminatory status quo and are thus also to blame. Past and present governments are almost equally to blame for not investing enough on BDR infrastructure and facilities, for failing to bring parity in salary, benefits and resources between the border guards and other forces. It was also these governments that allowed the open ended ad hoc system of deputing army offices to the Bangladesh Rifles without taking visible initiatives to institute a system for direct officer recruitment into the border guards and build up their own officer cadre.

There might have been strong objections to such ideas floated quietly within the military establishment to eventually turn the Bangladesh Rifles into a fully independent unit. But one must also agree that there was never a strong political will towards that end either.

This is certainly not the first time that there has been a rebellion within the armed forces. There have many such incidents before. But this rebellion was far different—both in context and goal. This has caused an irreparable loss to Bangladesh as well as to the people, not to mention the families of the victims. The country’s forces have become divided and it will be very difficult to reverse this. The rift between border guards and the army will perhaps remain like an old scar for many years.

Aside from the institutional rift and the security crisis, there is the loss of lives to grapple with. It was not just army officers, but pedestrians and children who were killed. Mothers lost sons, children their fathers, officers their brothers. They will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with their loss. But, perhaps, it is the last part—officers losing their brothers—that needs to be elaborated upon. The armed forces are deployed for one purpose only. And that is to protect the sovereignty of the country.

In doing so, every officer and soldier is expected to lay down their lives at a moment’s notice to protect their motherland. They are deployed to face the enemies of the country and made to live in extraordinary circumstances that the ordinary citizens of the country do not experience. Such circumstances demand that one soldier’s life depends on the one next to him. It requires unwavering faith and loyalty in each other.

They know among themselves that when facing the enemy, they stand united without any equivocations. The military personnel are trained and oriented to do that. The kind of bondage that they form with each other facing harsh situations is often stronger than those brothers have between them. When military personnel enter into their service knowing full well that their call of duty is nothing similar to the thousands of ordinary citizens, they also expect that the country would look after them with due respect and in a befitting manner.

Their burden of responsibility that comes with the knowledge of how they provide their people with the blanket of security is for them alone to bear. Ordinary citizens no matter how well versed in military matters, no matter how intellectually superior to every officer, will hardly ever have the same empathy for fellow colleagues. It was perhaps this sentiment that was hurt. While the Awami League government’s handling of the matter, particularly its decision to traverse a political path, is commendable, its stance could perhaps have been more tempered towards the sensitivities of the officers of the Bangladesh Army.

The army for its part also showed commendable restraint. They patiently awaited their orders from above, as troops were at standby through day and night. In the end, the government handled the matter on its own with police forces. But it should be noted that the army personnel, especially the officers, despite the knowledge of their fellows in peril stood firm at their positions. They did not break the chain of command, which is an indispensable thread in the moral fabric of military psyche.

In the armed forces there is no space for mutiny or rebellion. And the BDR soldiers broke that chain of command that is held sacred. They disrupted that fabric and in doing so made a cardinal sin. This brings up the matter of investigation. There must be investigations to do justice to the victims and their families as much as to find out the group that led this rebellion. Justice must be ensured in each and every instance of crime. The grievances of the BDR soldiers should also be investigated, impartially and in all fairness.

The government must, thereafter, in consultation with stakeholders, initiate appropriate measures that would prevent the recurrence of such tragic incidents. Furthermore, it must be mentioned that when it comes to the matter of protecting Bangladesh’s security and sovereignty, which the armed forces are entrusted with, there must not be any indulgence whatsoever for those who have broken the chain of command. Any lenience towards mutiny in the armed forces would be an even graver injustice to the people of Bangladesh.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

PEELKHANA CONSPIRACY

PROLOGUE​

ENTIRE Bangladesh is convinced that “Peelkhana massacre was the outcome of a long and deep-rooted conspiracy.” But there is a mystery shrouding the background of Peelkhana carnage. Somehow or the other, people of Bangladesh do not still know the entire truth. This article endeavors to un-shroud the hidden truth. Purpose is not to vindicate anyone, the pure purpose is to erase the lies and bring the truth to the open. You are not required to believe whatever follows. It is totally up to your judgment. If you believe, you may pass it on to persons who may try to spread the message so that justice, the rarest phenomenon on planet earth, may see light in Bangladesh—today, tomorrow or year after. If you don’t believe this article, utter a curse and just put this article into trash and forget it.

FULL STORY –

DeshCalling: 2009-09-13

 

[Al-zakir]

BDR to be renamed as BGB

PM approves proposal for reform of frontier force

Friday September 18 2009 00:00:00 AM BDT

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given her consent to reforms in mutiny stricken Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), renaming the paramilitary frontier force as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) with a new combat uniform, officials said here on Thursday.(BSS, Dhaka)

A senior official familiar with the situation told BSS that under the reform or reconstitution plan a huge number of retired army personnel would be inducted in lower ranks of the frontier force on a "makeshift basis".

The official, who preferred anonymity, said the decision was taken to fill up the vacuum to be created following the trial and conviction of BDR men who would be found involved in the February 25-26 mutiny when 57 army officers serving the border force on deputation were killed.

"The Prime Minister has given her consent to an amended proposal for BDR reforms on late Tuesday while the decision would now be implemented gradually with engagement of home, law and other concerned ministries," said the official.

He said in line with the proposed reforms, army officers would lead the paramilitary border guards on deputation like the previous, while BGB would now have four regional headquarters to be headed by a brigadier general while officers from navy and air force too would now be posted in the frontier force on deputation alongside army.

The official said the reconstituted frontier force would have reduced service length for the soldiers and other rankers having required qualification and age and could be inducted as regular commissioned officers of BGB with six months of training in Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA).

The soldiers retiring age would now be 45 while the JCOs would retire at the age of 57 while their recruitment age was also re-fixed at 17-19 years instead of 17-23 years.

The revised system of the paramilitary force would also promote departmental junior commissioned officers (JCOs) as "honorary" deputy assistant directors or "honorary" assistant directors with the rank insignia of honorary lieutenants or honorary captains.

Previously they were promoted simply as deputy assistant directors or assistant directors.

The roughed BDR soldiers had claimed a sense of "deprivation" prompted them to stage the mutiny while the demanded the frontier force should be freed from military domination.

The official said the border guards would now have 16 sectors, forming two new ones for the southeastern hills and northwestern regions, while the average distance of their border outposts would be as long as five kilometers and they would be equipped with motorbikes for patrolling in their new deep and light brown combat outfits.

The Premier's consent came days after the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Ministry blasted BDR chief Major General Mainul Islam for his decision to use a proposed new name and new uniform ahead of the final government approval, in a bid to free the frontier guards from the stigma of the February 25- 26 mutiny.

http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=285331

 

[ejaz007]

BD mutineers to be tried in civil tribunal

DHAKA: Some of the suspects in a deadly mutiny by Bangladeshi paramilitary border guards will face a special civil tribunal aimed at quick prosecutions, a Cabinet minister said on Tuesday.

Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said Tuesday that 3,500 suspects will be charged in October and tried in November in connection with the February mutiny by members of the Bangladesh Rifles at its Dhaka headquarters. Some 74 people were killed during two days of carnage. Among the dead were 57 army officers who commanded the force. Ahmed said suspects who are charged with killing and looting will be prosecuted under the Speedy Trial Tribunal Act, which allows for quick prosecutions of special cases. Those accused of lesser crimes will be tried under the paramilitary force's own law. ap

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Straight]

PEELKHANA CONSPIRACY

PROLOGUE​

ENTIRE Bangladesh is convinced that “Peelkhana massacre was the outcome of a long and deep-rooted conspiracy.” But there is a mystery shrouding the background of Peelkhana carnage. Somehow or the other, people of Bangladesh do not still know the entire truth. This article endeavors to un-shroud the hidden truth. Purpose is not to vindicate anyone, the pure purpose is to erase the lies and bring the truth to the open. You are not required to believe whatever follows. It is totally up to your judgment. If you believe, you may pass it on to persons who may try to spread the message so that justice, the rarest phenomenon on planet earth, may see light in Bangladesh—today, tomorrow or year after. If you don’t believe this article, utter a curse and just put this article into trash and forget it.

FULL STORY –

DeshCalling: 2009-09-13

Thanks for bringing this revealing report to the notice of this forum.

Please read the followings for corroboration of the same:

VICTIMS' CONCERNS BEING IGNORED

Hocus-pocus may derail BDR massacre trial

M Shahidul Islam
The weekly Hoilday
Seprtember 18, 2009

For details read: HOLIDAY > FRONT PAGE

 

[khabib]

Bangladesh military should have stormed the BDR HQ to stop mutiny-according to military manual of Bangladesh​

The last time I said this on this thread,a fellow Bangladeshi member here accused me of spreading AL's lies and as usual called me an "Indian Stooge".(???) (But who cares what people like him calls me.)

The reason that people responsible for BDR mutiny trial does not want the trial to be conducted in martial court because then top Generals like COAS M U Ahmad will also have to be under trial for not stopping the mutiny.
The punishment for it is DEATH.

As the punishment for mutiny is death,the punishment for not doing anything to stop it is also death.this is according to 1952 army act,article 31.

According to Article 31 (kha) if any one, who is responsible for stopping a mutiny but he does not do his best to stop it,it is a crime.

In this case former COAS,9th Infantry division and 46th infantry division are responsible for the failure.They can be tried according to article 31 (Kha).

According to article 31 (ga) if anyone aware of possible mutiny but does nothing to stop it,its a crime.
In this case RSB,DGFI,NSI chiefs would be in trouble.

I heard that 9th division chief tried that. For that reason, he was put under DSCSC right after this. Lt. General Aminul Karim also tried to do that. He was kicked out of the army. List goes on .....

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Thanks for bringing this revealing report to the notice of this forum.

Please read the followings for corroboration of the same:

VICTIMS' CONCERNS BEING IGNORED

Hocus-pocus may derail BDR massacre trial

M Shahidul Islam
The weekly Hoilday
Seprtember 18, 2009

For details read: HOLIDAY > FRONT PAGE

It is very revealing that the report was sent to me as the government was messing around with the BDR mutiny trial and when Hasina in Parliament claimed there were conspiracies afoot. We were not sure which conspiracy she was talking about - the foreign ones or the Pilkhana one? Now we know. LOL.......

 

[Straight]

].........and when Hasina in Parliament claimed there were conspiracies afoot. We were not sure which conspiracy she was talking about .[/B]........

In similar light as of above---I wonder---what you will say about the bdnews24 clipping below:

Dhaka, Sept 21 (bdnews24.com)--Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said her administration will do nothing that will harm the country and asked people to cooperate for a tangible solution to the energy and power crisis.

"I am the daughter of Bangabandhu. He has sacrificed his life for the sake of the country. I will not do anything to harm the country," Hasina said to reporters at the Gana Bhaban on Monday.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

In similar light as of above---I wonder---what you will say about the bdnews24 clipping below:

Dhaka, Sept 21 (bdnews24.com)--Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said her administration will do nothing that will harm the country and asked people to cooperate for a tangible solution to the energy and power crisis.

"I am the daughter of Bangabandhu. He has sacrificed his life for the sake of the country. I will not do anything to harm the country," Hasina said to reporters at the Gana Bhaban on Monday.

This means that she will do everything to harm the country.