Posted by admin on June 27th, 2009 in News Letter 2009

Hotline Newsletter

(Bi-monthly Newsletter)

Issue 159th                                                                                                        Feb.-Mar., 2009

Editorial

BDR Mutiny and its continued effect

 The big news of February 25-26 was the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny at the Pilkhana Headquarters in Dhaka. Bangladesh Rifles are Border guards. They killed at least 74 of their officer, including BDR jawans and some civil personnel. There are about 45,000 personnel in BDR while their officers are regular army personnel numbering 250 to 300 who live at the headquarters with their families. It is unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms a condemnable barbaric action taken by some BDR jawans in rebelling against the chain of command and taking up arms against both their senior officers and armed forces.

  For those in service of the republic, such brutal action cannot be justified by any logic. Besides being a bloody mutiny the lives of all non-combatants, including women and children, were endangered by the fire-fight and panic spread all over the country. The fight went on for almost two days, leading towards “civil war”. The rebellious BDR attacked the army personnel on 25 Feb. and killed about 74 people. On 24 Feb. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke to about 3,300 BDR and army personnel at Pilkhana, gathered from all over the country. The previous evening the BDR officers placed their demands about their pay and other benefits to the Director General to place to the PM. But when the PM went to Pilkhana to inaugurate the BDR Week, the DG did not raise the issues of the BDR except two minor ones of the lower-tier BDR personnel. This intensified the grievances. The angry jawans circulated leaflets in the morning with the headline, ‘Save BDR! Save the country! Save the Nation: why are 45,000 personnel subservient today? The BDR is alien in its own home. Take a look honorable prime minister, thinkers of the country.’

  The mutiny sparked off at the Darbar Hall when rebellious jawans created a commotion when the DG began to speak about the profit of the Dal-Bhaat program. The disgruntled jawans regrettably said that they signed on money receipts with a hope of getting a bonus when the program would end, but never got the money.  Some mutineers began to shout, demanding solutions to a number of problems related to pay, benefits and other facilities. The officers sitting in front reacted to their unruly behavior. One of the mutineers said, “at one stage an officer fired a shot leaving a jawan wounded. Then the lower tier jawans went out of the Hall and returned with arms from Pilkhana armory and held the officers hostage at gunpoint.” But the army personnel denied the fact. BDR jawan Selim said to the TFI cell and RAB, on the day BDRs were divided into various groups before starting operation. His group first made hostage of 20 army men, made them stand in queue. They had orders not to kill anyone but to shoot at legs and arms. But suddenly some men in BDR dress and covered their faces came and shot all 20 army men from the back and killed them. Selim said the shooters could not be identified. He thought some of them were dismissed BDR officers. He informed the TFI cell and RAB that a series of meetings were held between present and ex-BDR officers previously. He said the plan was finalized before the national parliament election and that they had discussed with some leading political party leaders (Samakal, 3.4.09).

  On 2 April 796 BDR jawans were presented to eight courts in groups. Many went on hiding with arms from the armory. PM called all the absconding BDRs to join the work. But those who joined the work were taken for interrogation and most of them were sent to jail. Many of them are taken for remand and allegedly tortured to get confession. At least six BDR men died in the custody and three “committed suicide”.  RAB collected hundreds of call lists from the arrestree mutineers and is scrutinizing the. RAB and CID suspect from the evidences that before the incident the mutineers discussed their plan with some big politicians and number of journalists. In this regard the secret agencies fully failed in their duties.

  “The officers were kept inside the Hall hostages for two days and were served with food, not tied or tagged,” mutineers claimed. The number of hostages was unknown. One of the jawans claimed, it was not a planned act but “almost sudden”. Army officers told that they got phone calls from Pilkhana from some BDR officials held hostage who pleaded for immediate action to rescue them. Over 3,300 soldiers from battalions 24, 36, 13 and 44 in Dhaka took part in the mutiny. A mutineer told the Daily Star accusing the army for enjoying all benefits and “looting” everything, while BDR personnel are given poor salaries not enough for basic living.” On 29 March a top Jamaat leader, Barrister Abdur Razzak, was called by the CID investigators for interrogation. Recently he visited several countries very secretly.

  There was dissatisfactions among the BDR since long because they work for more than 16-18 hours taking life risk for the country. But they get the least benefit from the government. On the other hand almost all their higher officers are the regular army men who get most benefits for their families, children and have better living conditions. One BDR jawan said they get Tk 5000 to cover their monthly expenses and 60% ration supplies for their children below 12. They demanded 100% ration, residential and Peace Keeping Mission facilities like those of army personnel.

  The PM had taken drastic and prudent action immediately offering general amnesty to all mutineers at her television address and asked them to go back to barracks after surrendering their arms, otherwise she warned of any action in the interest of the country. The mutineers agreed to surrender their arms by if army men were withdrawn from all the BDR camps across the country. The HM Adv. Sahara Khatun and Agr. Minister Motia Chowdhury led a team of law-makers to meet the jawans on the first day.

  Various electronic and print media published opinions of both BDR mutineers and the army personnel. The government and the army showed their tolerance. National and international media and people expressed their concerns over the mutiny and the aftermath incidents when the arrested BDRs died either at the custody or by ‘committing suicide’.

  Visible marks of tortures were seen on the bodies and autopsy reported also about the torture especially on the legs and arms of the victims. Both the BDR mutiny and deaths at the TFI/RAB custody are condemned strongly. They are similar offence.

  The Daily Jugantar reported on 30 March that the BDR mutiny was a long-cherished conspiracy planned before the National Parliamentary Election. The investigators said, BDR battalion across the country could have led to a “civil war”. They have identified 37 spots where groups of jawans either mutinied or attempted to do so. In many BDR battalion offices a band of soldiers looted arms and ammunition from the arsenals and attempted to commit the same offence. The report in Jugantar said, “at least 30 outsiders participated in the mutiny among whom were professional killers and they finished their mission within 2 to 2½ hours and left the area. They looted the armory, destroyed the control room, central record room, computer server room and all necessary communication machinery. Mutineers were identified from the nine CCTV, video footage, still pictures and from the arrestees statements. They looted the unknown numbers of arms and ammunition. 

  The paper reported that on the night of 23 Feb. six outsiders entered the gate and spent the night in two barracks. Among them 3 including Abdur Rashid and Akbar from Jamia Rashidia madrasa and Sultania madrasa, Feni resided at 5th floor of No. 44 battalion barrack and 3 including Sajahan and Ali Hossain from Chittagong resided at 5th floor of Sadar battalion. They said they went there to run daoati activities at Pilkhana. Rashid claimed that he got arms training in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Another source said, on that night 5-6 outsiders resided at the BDR central mosque at Pilkhana in disguise of Tabligue Jamaat under the care of BDR DAD Tawhid. On that night 30-35 sets of various BDR dresses with badges were trafficked out of Pilkhana. On 25 Feb. morning a pickup van with 12 persons and a microbus with 8-10 outsiders entered the main gate who were all in BDR dress.

  RAB informed, a BDR jawan tried to stop those vehicles but 3 mutineers beat that jawan and pulled him out of his duty. Intruder Shipoye Moyeen went to the armory escorted by DAD Riazul while a man with Kabli Suite supervised the looting. The investi-gators discovered that some local influential political leaders and their activists were associated with the BDR mutiny. Some actively participated in procession and expressed solidarity in favor of the BDR demands.

  The worst thing was the discovery of the number of mass graves where the army men were buried. Many were allegedly burned or thrown in the river or drainages.

  The BDR mutiny was one of the worst incidents in Bangladesh history. But the government has handled it very prudently and patiently. The army also proved their patience to the nation. But we hope that the investigators will find out the true story behind the incident and the collaborators (because just on the spot it could not happen after the PM had promised to meet the demands of the BDR gradually), not punish any innocent person and bring the report to public. This kind of barbarism should not be repeated any more. At the same time government should not ignore the just demands of the BDR or police who protect the country’s border and the lives and properties of the people. Army is playing their role and gets all benefits. So BDR and police should be counted worth controlling of their departments with their own personnel and capacity and granted sufficient benefits. ###

Opposition notices turned down

The Speaker of the Parliament turned down on Feb. 1 all 21 notices of the opposition for discussion, adjourning other scheduled work of the House. Some of the notices were on the law and order situation, election violence, price of essentials and fertiliser crisis. The speaker said that law and order could be addressed by existing laws and that many notices were based on assumptions only. It was noted that the speaker used the same arguments as were used against the AL in the last Parliament.

Peace promised on campuses

  Inaugurating the Book Festival at the Bangla Academy on Feb. 1, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assured a congenial climate in all educational institutions of the nation. She promised that “we will maintain peaceful atmosphere there at any cost.” Her remarks came after a series of violent incidents in many public colleges and universities. She also assured 100% enrolment in primary education by next year. [Who still recalls “Education for all by the year 2000″?] Her final devout wish was to make education free up to bachelor level and to make computer education from class VI compulsory “in order to make a digital Bangladesh by the year 2021.”

Reforming wood trade

 Govt. plans to stop special permits to buy wood from its depots. The permits usually go to influential persons like ministers, MPs and state ministers to buy up to 500 cft and to secretaries and military brass to buy logs at bargain prices for house building and making furniture. But they are widely used for illegal trafficking of wood as well. People are eager to get these permits because the govt. rates are way below market prices. But the general public doesn’t benefit from this system. “If we are to save our last remaining forests, we must stop issuing permits,” the State Minister for Forests and Environment stated. The present per capita forest-to-land ratio is one of the lowest in the world. DS 02.02.09

Govt. pursuing Koko money

 Foreign Minister AMA Muhit in answer to a supplementary question in Parliament Feb. 2 said that steps had been taken to recover the “laundered” money taken by Arafat Rahman Koko, Khaleda Zia’s youngest son. The US Govt. confiscated Tk. 11 crore of siphoned off money that passed through the USA banks. A case filed in Columbia District Court, is under trial. “Discussion is going on between us and the USA…there are agreements and there will be a deal,” the minister added.

AL grabs all taxi business at ZIA

 AL leaders and activists and their front organisations took control of all taxicab business at the Zia International Airport Feb. 1, driving out three firms who held leases from the Civil Aviation Authority and taking possession of their offices. They claimed the backing of a court ruling that stayed the operation of the three firms. This brought great suffering to passengers who needed taxis. But the next day CAAB ousted the grabbers and returned the cab offices to the three leasees.

FM: extra-judicial killings to stop

 Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni said that govt. would show “zero tolerance” to extra-judicial killing or torture and death in custody. In reply to questions at the Universal Periodic Review of Bangladesh at the Human Rights Council in Geneva Feb. 4 the FM also stated: “We do not condone any such incident and will bring the responsible officials to justice.” She further replied to questions about the death penalty, human trafficking and rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

 It was reported by Adhikar on Jan. 17 that 149 were killed in extra-judicial action in 2008 by various law-enforcing groups.

MPs want duty-free cars

The ordinance of the caretaker govt. doing way with the privilege for MPs to bring in cars duty-free was not on the list of 44 ordinances soon to be tabled in parliament for ratification. The committee for deciding which ordinances to propose for ratification is against making it a law. They argued that the care-taker govt. does not have the jurisdiction to promulgate an ordinance to curtail lawmakers’ facilities. DS 05.02.09

Latif sued for election offence

Fisheries and Livestock Minister and MP from Sirajganj-5 Abdul Latif Biswas was sued by the Sirajganj district election officer-1, also his daughter and some local AL leaders, for violating the election code of conduct in the Jan. 22 upazila elections. The election officer-1 filed the case and ordered a judicial probe into the matter. The minister is said to have intruded into the restricted area after he cast his vote, meddled in the balloting and intimidated voters. Law and order got outs of control. The voting was suspended by the district election returning officer.

 A group of ruling party activists at another center manhandled the Presiding Officer and took away ballot papers. DS 06.02.09

Govt. ads to “papers” in BNP rule

 A large number (177) of news- papers existing in name only got a huge amount of the Govt. ads and money allocated to them for publishing supplements during the last BNP-Jamaat alliance government. The Information Minister revealed this during question period in the Parliament on Feb. 5.  The alliance govt. spent more than Tk 104 crore during its 5-year tenure. It is said that dishonest ministry officials were generous in helping the no-name newspapers “under the table” to the detriment of mainstream national dailies. The Information Minister placed a list before the House, showing which newspaper got how much.

Recovery of health ministry land

 A probe committee report recommended canceling allot-ment of Health Ministry land in Tejgaon to media firm owners and BNP loyalists. The BNP-Jamaat alliance govt. had distributed plots on at least 14 out of 25 bighas of land at a cheap rate between 2002 and 2006. The probe recom-mended taking action against govt. officials involved in leasing out the land and formalizing the health ministry’s possession of the land. The land was procured for a hospital, for which Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone in 200l, but the following govt.  ignored the hospital plan and distributed much of the land on 99-year lease.

DIG-Prisons abused power

 The Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Maj. Shamsul Haider Siddique violated at least 15 clauses of the jail code and abused power by allowing special privileges for a dreaded convict, Dipjol. A 72-page report of a 2-member probe team, formed after Prothom Alo published on Feb. 2 a photo that showed Maj. Haider laughing with Dipjol and three women inside the jail. Haider was transferred the same day. The report said he allowed 200 visitors to visit Dipjol within 52 days. Dipjol is sentenced to 41 years for many crimes, including possession of illegal arms and amassing and concealing illegal   wealth.  DS 07.02.09

Abuse of Pakistan blasphemy law

 In the past, only a superintendent of police could file blasphemy charges, but now it can be misused because anybody can file a case. Rawalpindi police arrested a Christian Punjabi, Hector Aleem (51), on Jan. 22 for sending a “blasphemous” text message on his mobile phone. Police raided his house and assaulted him, his wife and two daughters, stole valuables and broke a picture of Jesus on the wall. Crowds shouted death threats against him at the first court hearing. His lawyer said he directs a small agency that defended Christians in a land case in which a local community wanted to demolish their church building and therefore this false charge was made.  At a hearing on Feb. 2 the judge exonerated him of blasphemy charges but not of abetting. He is said by a govt. official to have done this because extremists in court shouted: “If you release him then we shall kill him outside.” The judge blamed Bashar Kokar, charged many times with fraud, but neither Aleem nor Kokar’s involvement could be proved because the call came from an unregistered mobile phone. The only way for Aleem to escape the well-organised extremists may be to seek asylum in another country. Compass Direct News

Blasphemy charges on 4 Ahmadis 

Four Ahmadi school children in a Layyah village in Pakistan and a 45-year old suspect, were held on charges of blasphemy - writing blasphemous material in the latrines of a mosque. Handbills were distributed that told all Ahmadis to leave by Feb. 9. The police station officer, Khalid Rouf, said there were no witnesses and no evidence. But he registered the case “because the complainants believed no Muslims could possibly commit blasphemy.” (They do not accept the Ahmadis as true Muslims.) The mosque imam said the writing was not readable. The mosque governing body said they were not consulted and were not sure the children were guilty. Locals said a banned organisation had hijack-ed the mosque and the school principal wanted to occupy the premises, owned by an Ahmadi. The one who filed the case had also lodged a blasphemy case against an Ahmadi in 1992. Daily Times  02.06.09

Mros pushed from place to place

  Ranglai Mro, a leader of the Mro, fourth largest tribal community in the nation, spoke of his people on Feb. 3. He was released from jail on bail Jan. 13 after almost a year. He was arrested on Feb. 23, 2008 without charge. He thinks it was because of his protests as chairman of Sowalok Union under Thanchi Upazila over people being moved off their land just before harvest. After his arrest he was later charged in an arms and ammunition case and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment (for a non-functional gun in his house and some used bullets). He was tortured so badly that he could hardly stand in court and he had to be sent to Chittagong Hospital because he had internal hemorrhage and two blocked arteries.

  Ranglai tells how his people were first displaced by the Kaptai Dam and Lake and now are one of the groups being moved, without rehabilitation, from 11,500 acres acquired for an artillery-training centre. The driven-out villagers lived under the open sky all winter.  DS 04.02.09

student held in room for toll

 The son of a farmer from Cox’s Bazar, Nazrul Islam, was blind- folded and tied to a chair all night in his room in Kabi Jasim Uddin Hall of Dhaka University. His roommate Saiful Islam and a fake student “Raj” demanded Tk 1.5 lakh toll on Jan. 18 after “finding” a bag with a gun under his bed. This was filmed by a “crime reporter.” Nazrul got scared and returned home but his father came to DU and met journalists to tell his story. The hall provost issued a notice to Saiful asking why his scholarship should not be revoked. The VC said he would take steps to restore Nazmul to his place at DU and ensure his security.

Land grabbing at Hindu temple

 Eminent citizens of Dinajpur and Hindu students who formed a human chain at the High Court in Dinajpur on Feb. 8 condemned some local land grabbers for grabbing endowed property of the 700-year old Kantaji Temple to set up a madrasa. Corrupt officials of the land administration connived with the land grabbers to prepare fake documents. The concerned citizens urged govt. to take legal action against both and arrest the culprits and recover the seized property.  DS 09.02.09

Perennial problem - no textbooks

 The starting date for school classes is well-known and the problems of publishing textbooks in time are well-known, yet every year there are many serious complaints. This year most textbooks for secondary level students coming to the market are of low quality, poor binding and have lots of errors. Publishers blame it on the great pressure from the task force on textbooks.  They have to work round the clock and don’t get enough chance to check the books a final time.

Ctg ammunition haul probes faulty

 Investigation officers (IOs) did not follow the specific court directives in the 10-truck arms haul case of 2004 but skipped many vital points. The IOs failed to identify the specific arms-loading port, the names of the importer or exporter and the final destination for the arms. Many top persons of the administration and the 4-party alliance govt. should have been quizzed. The owners of the trawlers should also have been quizzed to learn the name of the vessel in the outer anchorage where they loaded their trawlers. Two separate cases were filed but they should be combined in a single case. The new IO has not yet begun his investigation into the case except for getting two of the prime accused placed on Feb. 15 under 5-day remand. DS 16.02.09

  The two prime accused gave their lengthy confessional statements before a Chittagong court on Mar. 2.  A plot was hatched in late 2001 to transport arms to ULFA (the United Liberation Front of Assam) under direct supervision of Paresh Barua, one of its leaders, to bring huge quantities of arms and ammunition through Bangladesh to Assam. There was a massive cover-up of the secret and illegal plot, in which high-level 4-party members were involved.

  Accused Hafizur Rahman claimed he gave the same statement on several occasions since his surrender in October 2005. It was never recorded and he was threatened with death unless he kept his mouth shut. Originally purchased in China from a semi-government factory, delivery was made from a ship near St. Martin’s Island onto two motorised boats, which brought them to the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd. (CUFL) jetty on the Karnaphuli River. The firearms were off-loaded into 10 trucks, aided by the Coast Guard, which provided light from a vessel. Two Sergeants appeared and challenged the shipment, suspecting they were smuggling goods from Burma. On opening some boxes they found firearms, and efforts to bribe them failed.

  A member of the first govt. probe committee said they could not bring out “the key findings” due to a time constraint.

 The CID began interrogating some of the persons named as responsible for checking and offloading the illegal weapons. A Chittagong Court extended the time limit for investigation of the case to May 13. The Investigative Officer said that the statement of Hafiz did not mention any minister or govt. official. Since Barua had claimed that all arrangements had been cleared with the National Security Intelligence and Direct- orate General of Forces Intelligence and with the CUFL and govt. to offload the arms at their jetty, the CID plans to quiz the high officials of the CUFL. The first FIR paper had been destroyed.

 Five former CBA leaders, including the president and general secretary, blamed on remand former CUFL officials for the illegal offloading of the 10 truck loads of weapons and for not forming any probe committee.

Schools sacrificed to “progress”

 Civil society members in Chittagong had raised a huge protest over the city corporations plan to demolish two old and reputed Hindu-owned girls’ schools, the Aparna Charan City Corporation Girls’ H.S. and the Krishna Kumari City Corporation H.S. A 16-story building is to house commercial establishments but will accommodate the two schools. The civil society members held a two-hour token hunger strike on Jan. 31 to protest against the “mindless move”, while the mayor remained “stubbornly unyielding in his decision.” DS 01.02.09

Arrested JMB hurls grenade

 Police arrested on Feb. 20 four operatives of the outlawed Jama’tul Mujahiden Bangladesh (JMB) and recovered five grenades and bomb-making materials from a village of Tongi. Without defusing the grenades they brought the militants, including three women, to the Superintendent of Police’s office in Gazipur. The male militant, Mamun, alias Zahid, threw himself on the grenades and, though handcuffed, managed to pull out the pin and throw the grenade at the police and journalists, injured himself, nine police and three journalists.  It was suspected that there was an attack plotted for Ekushey February, the next day.

Illegal rock extraction in CHT

 Illegal rock extraction, up to 2.5 lakh cft (cubic feet) per year, and their sale is taking place in eight upazilas of Khagrachari under the eyes of the Forest Dept., which is supposed to collect revenue at a rate of Tk. 58 per cubic foot. The contractors who buy the rocks pay a handsome bribe to the officials concerned to “legitimise” the illegal business. DS 20.02.09

Two huge accidents in two days

 Thirteen were killed and 50 injured when a train ran into a truck, which stalled, on an open level crossing at Kashiahari, Joypurhat on Feb. 17. Most of the dead were sitting on the engine and fell under the wheels of the train. A probe body was given three days to make a report. The roads and railways department and the railway itself commis-sioned three other committees for investigating the incident.

  On Feb. 19 a cargo ship ran into an overcrowded launch, which sank in the Kirtonkhola River in Barisal. Forty-one were killed and at least 14 others were missing. Many drowned while trying to swim to the shore. The owner of the passenger sued the owner of the cargo ship, demanding Tk. 8 lakh as compensation. On Feb. 20 eight crew of the cargo vessel were jailed after a police case was filed.

Concrete posts boost power cost

 New faces are pushing the Rural Electrification Board to buy concrete poles, which are at least 40% costlier than wooden ones. They say that REB cannot rely on wooden poles anymore because of their extensive system. In the past, concrete poles were silently pushed into place by propaganda against wooden poles. According to World Bank guidelines, 20% of the poles must be wooden.

BNP return to Parliament

 On Feb. 21 Speaker Abdul Hamid assured the BNP of “respectable seating arrange-ments in the House” and the next day they returned after boycotting the House for 17 days. The Opposition made a noisy protest over the ratification of the expenditure of the caretaker govt. for the past two years. Their MPs blasted the CG and asked the present Govt. to bring it to justice for unconstitutional and undemo- cratic activities and misuse of public money.

96 ordinances null and void

 Ninety-six ordinances promulgated by the caretaker govt. and just before, became null and void when they were not ratified on Feb. 24. Of the 54 the special committee had recommended, about half are among the defunct laws. They include many popular “pro-people” ordinances: the Right to Information Ord., Human Rights Commission Ord., two ordinances for separating the judiciary and executive branches of govt.  and the Consumer Rights Protection Ordinance. The PM said, however, that each would be considered and placed as fresh bills by the ministries concerned if they think they relate to the public interest.

Bill placed to restore Upazila Act

 Govt. on Feb. 24 placed a bill to revive the Upazila Parishad Act of 1998 but dropping the mandatory provision to follow local MP’s advice. The lawmakers are made simply advisors, to keep them from hampering local initiatives. It proposed a clause to safeguard the January upazila elections by bringing them under the revived ordinance. DS 25.02.09

Shark catching common

 Although shark catching is banned by the Forest Act as a threat to the ecology of the sea, indiscriminate shark catching is spreading in the coastal area of Barguna and Patuakhali Dts. Some 250 trawlers and 2,000 fishermen are engaged in the lucrative business. Shark skin, teeth and stomach are sold at high prices in the Middle East and European countries. Shark fins are sold to Chinese restaurants for soup and most of the flesh is sun-dried to make sutki for home consumption.

BDR Mutiny

  The big news of February was the BDR mutiny at the Peelkhana headquarters in Dhaka. The Bangladesh Rifles are the border guards. There are about 45,000 personnel, while their officers (regular army) number about 250 to 300. BDR Week was opened on Feb. 24 by the Prime Minister at the BDR headquarters in Peelkhana. About 3,000 soldiers of the BDR attended from many battalions around the country. For a long time before, repressed feelings had been building up of BDRs being deprived of financial and other benefits, while being ignored by the high command. The army enjoyed many benefits but “looted” everything, accord-ing to them.  The lower tier BDR personnel had requested the Director General to raise their demands before the Prime Minister. But he raised only two demands of the army officers and none of the demands of the lower tier personnel. While he was speaking on the morning of Feb. 25 a commotion arose in the back of the hall and officers in the front reacted to it. Mutineers claimed that the mutiny began when an officer fired a shot and wounded a jawan. Many jawans left and returned with arms from the armory (an indication of pre-planning). Some of the officers, including the DG, hid at the back of the stage. When some jawans ordered them to come out, led by the DG, they shot and killed him as he came down from the stage and then fired at the others. The other officers, up to 100, were held in the hall at gunpoint all day long. Many of the officers were killed, along with some BDRs who opposed the mutiny. Fifty were reported slain, including some civilians, and many of the bodies were thrown into various man-holes. Later, witnesses said that most of the officers were killed before 11 a.m.

  During the day thousands of shots were heard, but the mutineers claim it was only to scare off anyone trying to stop the mutiny. Before the deaths were con-firmed the Prime Minister offered amnesty to the mutineering BDRs.  Initially there was a lot of public sympathy for the BDRs because of their grievances but as the terrible atrocities committed by them against the army officers in charge were revealed, the initial sympathy of the public toward their cause gave way to revulsion and horror.

 The next day battalions throughout the country joined the mutiny and more officers were held as hostages. The mutineers wanted all military officers to be sacked from their posts because they claimed there was military oppression worse than under the Pakistanis. On the third morning the army troops with tanks surrounded the barracks and the BDRs surrendered in the early afternoon.

 On Feb. 28 the newspapers reported the horror of a mass grave in a small ditch about one km from the hall. The mutilated body of the DG was found there, along with 28 other officers. The death toll at that point stood at 62, 50 of them military officers, but many were still missing. The Prime Minister announced in a TV address on Feb. 27 that none of those involved in the killings would come under the declared amnesty.

A probe body of six under the Home Minister Sahara Khatun was to report within 7 days. A 3 -day period of national mourning and prayer was declared from Feb. 27. The next day 10 bodies were found in three new graves, bringing the death toll to 72, while two officers were reported missing.

 BDR deserters who were absent without leave or permission were given until 4 p.m. Mar. 1 to return to their workplaces. More than 1,500 returned, and the Army was called in for an indefinite time to help arrest the absconding rebel BDRs.

 On the night of Feb. 28 the Lalbagh police filed a case against more than 1,000 BDR members for their links to the mutiny in Peelkhana Barracks.

 Women’s Day looks at burnings

 International Women’s Day was celebrated on Mar. 8 and it had plenty of cases of burning of women to focus on. A 16-year old married child bride of nine months, Lucky, a class 9 student, was fighting for her life at Meherpur General Hospital after her husband Jamal and his family members set her on fire because her poor family could not give two bighas of land demanded after the marriage. Jamal tortured her and she brought a case against him. He got bail and threatened her and her family and burned her as a “last resort.”

 Chumki, an HSC student, escaped death when her husband of six months, Shubho, and his mother set her on fire on Jan 25 and kept her confined so that she could not seek help. On Feb. 9 her mother took her badly burned daughter to the One Stop Crisis Centre at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where she is being treated for several burns all over her legs. Such incidents of violence against women are rampant all over the country. DS 08.03.09

Student rampage at Rajshahi U.

On Mar. 11 the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) attacked Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists and injured at least 20, including the unit president and general secretary of Rajshahi University.

  The ICS took over all the male dormitories, driving out the BCL by beating them. The same night the two groups clashed at Rajshahi Medical College (RMC), injuring about 25 students.

 The worst violence erupted on the RU campus on Mar. 13, when the general secretary of the ICS was killed and at least 100 of the two groups were injured in sporadic clashes. RU, the RMC and Rajshahi College were all shut down indefinitely and the hostel students ordered to leave. On Mar. 14 the other prominent educational institutions of Rajshahi likewise were all closed.

 [After taking office the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina often reiterated that violence on educational campuses will not be tolerated and that no mercy will be shown toward any group. Shutting down educational institutions is in no way the solution to campus violence.]

BCL demand 300 seats at Eden

 The Eden Women’s University College postponed the admission process Mar. 9 for the first year Honors course and could not resume work by Mar. 15. The reason was agitation by students of the BCL Eden College unit for a “ruling party political quota” of 300 seats. A source of the college principal “assured” them of their demand but the admission committee chair refused it. Several BCL leaders went to the admission office and threatened that the committee could not renew its work until they caved in to BCL power. [Since when has student politics been so openly superior to academic merit in Bangladesh? This is only the camel’s nose for the whole tent to be pulled down. What has the Awami League been doing about it for the past week?]

Dhaka skyscrapers at fire risk

 After a huge fire gutted the top six floors of Bashundhara City shopping complex on Mar. 13 in spite of the installation of modern fire-fighting equipment, The Daily Star on Mar. 14 visited six of the leading high-rise buildings of Dhaka and found them woefully inadequate to face potential disasters from fire. Some have plenty fire-fighting equipment but lack the properly-trained personnel to run it. The buildings do not hold fire safety drills.

 The under-construction 27-floor Doreen Tower has a staircase only 3.5 feet wide, which will be the emergency fire-exit. The building code of 1993 requires all buildings above six-storeys to have two staircases, one for emergency.

Unfair Banani housing surviving

The previous 4-party alliance rule allotted the Rajuk plots for the so-called “Banani BNP Palli” (Village) almost exclusively to party men and intellectuals loyal to it. Though 3,000 persons applied for the plots, only influential former ministers, state ministers and lawmakers of the alliance government, the son of the immediate past president and pro-BNP intellectuals got plots by abusing power and violating the Rajuk rules. Of the 50 plots, two were allotted to Awami League and Jatiya Party MPs. During the caretaker govt. only three of the 50 allottees declined the lots; some got their plots registered and many already erected six-storey buildings on them. Most started building even before registration or paying the installments. People owning land in town were not eligible to get land in the scheme, but several do own land in Dhaka. DS 14.02.09

Koko sued for money laundering

 The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Mar. 17 sued Arafat Rahman Koko, the youngest son of Khaleda Rahman, or laundering money illegally taken as bribes from Siemens, and a Chinese Co., and others for help in landing govt. contracts. The money was deposited in two of his five Singapore bank accounts. The case stated that his influence as the son of the then prime minister allowed him to “earn” the money illegally between 2001 and 2006. The evidence has been primarily proven.  DS 18.03.09

Ship-breaking shut down

 The High Court on a writ filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association directed the 36 ship-breaking yards to close their operation within two weeks for failure to get environmental clearance. No ship may enter Bangladesh without cleaning its hazardous materials before entry. The court directed the govt. to form a committee to monitor the implementation of its directives.

 On Mar. 22 thousands of workers of different ship-breaking yards formed a chain on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway demanding that their work be saved. They requested the PM’s immediate intervention. [But even the PM cannot contravene the HCs order.]

Bill restricts EC power

 A bill passed in Parliament on Feb. 24 restricted the Election Commission’s power to take action against political parties for violating registration provisions.

The caretaker govt. had authorised the EC to cancel the registration of parties breaking the registration rules. The EC’s reaction was that they didn’t think the govt.  meant their action.  The Election Commissioner Md. Sohul Hussain said on Mar. 17 said: “We want to believe the govt. made those [changes] by mistake, and if so, we’ll request them to put things right.”

Who determines the law?

 Some BCL and AL activists demonstrated at the Atghoria P.S.  and barricaded the Paba-Chatmohor Highway for four hours on Mar. 21 to protest the “false case” filed against three BCL leaders. A mobile phone shop owner filed the case with the Speedy Tribunal in Pabna Mar. 1, complaining that the accused beat him up, took a gold chain worth Tk. 16,000, a wristwatch and a mobile phone set. The protesters alleged the owner is a BNP supporter, who fabricated the case for political harassment.

20 Hindus injured in land attack

 Twenty Hindus of Village Samaj Gram of Chatmohor were injured on Mar. 22 when musclemen of land grabbers attacked them over “disputed” temple land, critically injuring several. The victims “prompted” the clash by “trying to resist.” [The  “dispute” seems to be that the land grabbers (unidentified) have long been trying to drive the Hindus out.] DS 23.3.09

 

Rental power plant lagging

Two inexperienced local power plant companies were awarded rental power contracts by the caretaker govt. to generate 104 MW of power by three rental plants. They continue defaulting and have paid no penalty for it. Rather, they are trying to dictate terms and have asked the Power Board to skip penalties, without any assurance of delivery of the power. They have also missed deadlines (May 2008) on two other power schemes for Fenchuganj and Bhola.

   Terrorist ammo factory found

  RAB on Mar. 24 discovered a mini-ammunition factory in an illegally-operated madrasa-orphanage at Borhanuddin, Bhola. They recovered nine firearms, 2,500 bullets, 3,000 grenade splinters, gunpowder, etc.  Investigators said that the militants in Borhanuddin were better equipped and trained than the JMB. Four suspected militants were arrested. Students said that teachers taught them in the sermon after Asr prayers that Allah has created us to establish the Almighty’s rule through jihad.”

  Faizul Mostafa, a Bangladeshi living for 20 years in England, a nephew of a former BNP minister, financed the madrasa, but has not been charged for anything. He was cleared twice of terrorist bomb plots in the UK, but was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for possessing an illegal firearm and another 56 days for trying to board an aircraft with a gun. He also financed an NGO in London (Green Crescent), which was planning to open two more militant centres in Daulatkha and Jalmohan, Bhola. In fact, they only had permission to operate in Daulatkha Upazila.

Grenade attack probe tampered

 The CID (Criminal Investigation Department) filed a case against three of its own for tampering with the evidence in the Aug. 21, 2004 grenade attack against a rally of Sheikh Hasina in which 22 were killed. They stand accused of destroying evidence and misdirecting the investigation by forcing people into making confessional statements. The three are: two retired Asst. Superintendent of Police (ASP) and the former investigation officer of the case. They intentionally destroyed evidence and did not record the confessional statements of thee culprits, including the banned Islamist militant group HUJI leader, Mufti Hannan, who has admitted his involvement. They forced three petty criminals to confess before a magistrate by torture, threats and payment of money. The BNP-led government’s one-man judicial probe of 162 pages was never published. Some BNP MPs went so far as to accuse in Parliament the Awami League of attacking its own rally. DS 31.3.09

  The following day the CID investigators began focusing on the govt. higher-ups at the time who who influenced the three investigators to misdirect the investigation of the attack. A senior CID official remarked: “So far w know that a number of former ministers and some senior officials of a law enforcement agency were behind it.”

Ctg arms haul

 The CID has asked the Chittagong Zone Coast Guard for an on-duty list of those present at the CUFL dock and Teknaf and Kutubdia when the arms and ammunition were offloaded and they will soon be interrogated. Confessional statements of those previously grilled indicated that, in addition to those already questioned, the Directorate of General Forces Intelligence and the National Security Intelligence might have links with the consignment and the unloading. 

Published by Rosaline Costa, Hotline (HRs) Bangladsh

Box-5, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

Phone:+9352149, E-mail:costa_rosie@yahoo.com, Web: www.hotlinebd.org

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