Bangladesh army chief warns - 'work together or risk sovereignty'

General Waker-Uz-Zaman (Reuters)

Bangladesh army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has warned that country's sovereignty could be at risk if people fail to put aside their differences and stop engaging in mudslinging.

Zaman also said that "lack of unity among forces" is one of the reasons behind the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, while addressing an event at the RAOWA Club in Dhaka, commemorating the martyrs of the brutal 2009 Pilkhana massacre.

Zaman warned against creating confusion over the 2009 mutiny, saying it was carried out by the Bangladesh Rifles soldiers and no one should doubt it.

"Full stop. There are no 'ifs' and 'buts' here," he said at a commemorative event for slain military officers serving in BDR during the 2009 revolt.

On February 25 and 26, 2009, 57 army officers, including the then-director general of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed, were murdered in a mutiny at the headquarters of the paramilitary force (now Border Guard Bangladesh-BGB) in Pilkhana, Dhaka. In total, 74 bodies were recovered from the incident.

Zaman said everyone must always keep one thing in mind "no military soldier carried out that brutality" on February 25 and 26, 2009, when 57 army officers serving the BDR were killed.

"If you bring ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ on the matter, the judicial process which has been going on for so many years, those who are serving in jail for 16 or 17 years or served their terms as convicts, that judicial process will be disrupted,” he said.

"Don’t destroy the judicial process. The BDR members who were given punishment, deserve it,” Zaman said on the occasion of the newly proclaimed “National Martyred Army Day” to commemorate the lives lost during the mutiny.

The mutiny during the Awami League government of now-deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina prompted authorities to rename the paramilitary force and change its uniform, logo and regulatory law.

"The bottom line is our smart and competent military personnel (officers) lost their lives in gunshots of the erstwhile BDR soldiers. Some of us are now coming up with different opinions and trying to divert the issue to a different angle,” the army chief said.

"This (attempt) will not be good for us,” he added.

His comments came as Muhammad Yunus-led interim government instituted a reinvestigation commission headed by a retired army general with the task of unveiling the masterminds of the revolt and examining possible involvement of any foreign power in the massacre.

The army chief, however, said the commission would examine the possible involvement of political leaders or external powers. The findings would be made public, he added.

There is speculation among certain quarters that some Awami League leaders and foreign powers might have some involvement in the massacre.

(With PTI inputs)