Sharif Aziz

1. First of all, why the “Rebellion” had at all taken place – must be dealt in details. This is to grudgingly find out the organisational drawbacks, instead of bringing ‘The Conspiracy Theory’ in the forefront & there by shift the ‘Focus’ to a Secondary direction; despite the fact that, we have many reasons to think about the conspiracy theory also.

2. Let’s talk about the ‘Herculean’ Intelligence Failure : Why the ‘Manifestations-Indicators’ were not monitored.

3. Officers and other Ranks (Jawans) : Relationship in BDR must have ‘Deteriorated’ to the lowest ebb.

4. Impact of 1/11 : BDR Business ventures created an atmosphere of unprofessional situation – Pollution in the organisation. Such business undertakings must not be taken at Street / Bazar levels by the Military or Semi Military Organisations !

5. Conspiracy Theory : External – Internal; Involvement of outside elements – Not monitoring has been a gross failure.

6. The emphasis & focus should be to find out the own Organisational; Command & Leadership failures for future remedy.

7. A real deep down “Soul Searching” is still the call of the day. Armed Forces of a country is the last ‘Bastion’ of hope & aspiration of a Nation. Armed Forces are committed to protect the sovereignty of the Motherland. The members of the Armed Forces are required to be “Impregnable & Invincible” in the face of external threats / enemies – as such comes the question of the ‘Stocktaking’ of the last 15 (Fifteen) years after the ‘Massacre’, whether we have come to a position of not having such ‘Upheaval’ happening again.

REVIEW :

1. The memory is vivid and ever fresh: 2009 February 25. As many as 57 officers were brutally murdered. This day will go down in the history of Bangladesh as one of the most tragic / infamous days. Why so many lives had to be sacrificed is the question that will always haunt us.

2. Almost fifteen (15) years have passed but sentiments and emotions are still running high, recollecting absence of the Military actions to quell the BDR mutiny. Many of the professional officers are sure that immediate and spontaneous / instantaneous military operations against ill-equipped and less trained BDR personnel by mere operations or alternatively by the Army Commandos would have had salutary effects, and within no time the mutiny would have fizzled out.

3. Most of the officers still talk of opening and keeping the subject alive for future scrutiny and review, so that the people responsible are made accountable and the military learns a lesson as a part of Military history. Though 15 years have elapsed, I feel the military must carry out a critical analysis of their actions on that day and they should not be complacent about their overall operational capabilities.

4. Their achievements in less-intense operations/conflicts like counter insurgency, UN missions, natural disasters, Padma Bridge, Marine Drive, Hatirjheel, Flyovers etc. should not give them a feeling that they are prepared for combat or real crisis situations like BDR rebellion. How far away they are from words like “Hard hitting, real tough, grim faced, serious, and speed” applicable for professional armies must be answered by them. We paid too dearly in the BDR mutiny. The damage has been colossal. A repetition of the like; MUST NOT happen in the future.

5. The Armed Forces in recent time have achieved monumental growth in making Towering Buildings, Most Modern Looking Headquarters, Fabulous Golfing Resorts, Hill Top Guest Houses, Officers Mess with Ultra- Modern design with beautiful glass facade & aluminum cladding and what not. More Schools, Colleges, Hotels are in the making. Indeed, there has been almost revolution in face lifting every nook & corners of the Cantonments. Large spacious receptions, all tiled gives a real refreshing Look & Feelings. The implementation of the grand “The Jolshiri Project”, the taking over of the Rajuk Projects, the rebuilding of 1000’ feet boulevard in Purbachal are ‘Hallmarks’ of our achievements.

6. All these are very much welcoming & seems to be a part of great development that have taken place. However, these essentials or extravaganza are justified, only when we match our actions with operational excellence. We must not also lose sight of the better financial package & perks now received compared to that we have been receiving in the 1980’s. So, we have our solemn & utmost obligations towards the country, where large percentage of people are still impoverished & downtrodden.

7. Let’s be aware and conscious that the country needs Armed Forces, not to run the country, but to beat back the enemies of the land in the true military sense. Take the example of Jordan, the King a Military man once said he will lead the mission against the militants of ISS, when their pilot was brutally killed; The Pakistani Govt. overnight hanged many of the terrorist after the Peshawar incident. The Japanese Govt. have changed their 50 years policy from defense to offense, when two of their citizens were killed. The same reaction has been shown by the Egyptian Govt. when their soldiers were mercilessly executed by the ISS. These are only few examples of what the Armed Forces is expected to take note of to deal with enemies of mankind and humanity.

8. The New Impending Threats : Though it may not be pertinent to speak on this subject here, yet it may be mentioned, firstly of the frustrations felt by the unfriendly conduct of Myanmar and its Armed Forces on the Rohingya issue. We have been pushed to nowhere. We found that the ‘Big Powers’ who matters, including our tested neighbour have trepidation in their support & spontaneity when we looked towards them. We have problems in the Chittagong Hills Tracts, which is not dormant and may pose to be critical in the future, particularly after what is happening in Myanmar.

9. The lesson learnt is that we need a strong ‘Deterrent’. We need National Unity, Firm resolute to save our hard earned “Independence and Sovereignly”. The expectation of the Nation is: The Armed Forces must be a “Bloody Hard Hitting” super fine fighting machine operationally ever ready to punish any aggressors. Look at India – Pakistan! They roar at each other, but would not like to venture on each other. This is because of the “Deterrent”; built up by them against each other.

10. There is no other entity in the country, other than the higher military command to appraise & make aware the Government of the threats & vulnerabilities against the sovereignty of our country. They must not fail in their solemn responsibility of signaling the Government continuously of the heinous designs of the enemies both at home & abroad.

11. Coming back to dispensing of justice to the murderers, reference of “The Holy Quran” is brought to the fore which repeats in several places that when you act as judges, do “Just and Fair Trial”, come what may, or else in the day of judgment Allah will never forgive you and throw you in the Hell- fire. The Holy Quran also ordains that the “Judge” is only next to Allah on earth in so far as dispensation of fair justice is concerned. For a nation it is not good to forego Justice. If not judged sincerely, this will sow the seeds of dissatisfaction in the minds of an organisation. Moreover, if true justice is not served, the most affected minds, i.e. the families of the fallen soldiers, will never get solace and we owe it to them. Hence, the Judges should pay heed. If exemplary punishment is awarded to the murderers, our people will think twice before daring to commit heinous / barbarous crimes in the future !