IT was the prime minister's offer of general amnesty and deadline for the rebels' surrender of arms that ended the horrific 33 hour mutiny. Ihe ruthless killing of scores of army officers and their wives and children by the mutineers speaks of the worst cowardice and a heinous conspiracy.

It could be conspiracy because it is unimaginable that the BDR jawans, who have been traditionally loyal to the command, killed so many of their unarmed commanding officers on the pretext that some demands were not met. It is absurd to even contemplate.

Although initially the mutiny was sought to be passed off as an outburst of pent-up rage from deprivation and maltreatment of jawans at the hands of the army officers in command, the unfolding facts point to a much more troubling plot.

It is not only a debilitating blow to the army as an institution, but also seemingly a conspiracy against the nation itself. Irrespective of party and opinion, we must face up to this challenge unitedly.

In hindsight, it is clear that the mutiny was designed to create a wrong impression about the army. Within hours, the mutineers began to spit venom against the army by giving free-style statements to

the media. They alleged that the army had done wrong during the last two years. That was their justification for the unprecedented brutalities committed.

The slogan "peopIe-BDR brotherhood" raised by a small bunch of people who thronged the BDR gate from nowhere sounded quite ominous in that it amounted to an evil effort at pitting the army against (he BDR.

What transpired has led some analysts to suspect that the mutiny was led by some yet unknown elements who sought to break the chain of command in the disciplined force, and thus undermine our national security.

Without knowing the magnitude of the death and destruction wrought by the mutineers, the media, many say, jumped rather too promptly into airing all the uncorroborated stuff gathered one-sidedly from them. Every sinner has his own excuse for the sin perpetrated by him. The free media should have kept that in mind.

If the media had been a little more vigilant and circumspect, the unsuspecting public would not have been so misinformed as to form an unwholesome impression of the army.

Now the onus lies on the media to help repair the damage and present a two-sided picture.

The prime minister's patient and sagacious dealing with the rebelling elements by offering general amnesty for handing over weapons seemed to be the right step under the circumstances.

Her statesmanship spared the nation an unimaginable bloodbath, because an unknown number of civil and military hostages, including women and children, were still under rebel custody inside the BDR compound. Amnesty was the right step to resolve the mutiny without firing a single shot, and to prevent a bigger mayhem.

Some quarters’ comment that there could have been an armed approach to the imbroglio is anything but well thought out because it would have caused exchange of fire between the rebels inside and the army battalion outside, resulting in many civilian casualties in surrounding

areas.

That could have also created an opportunity for the rebels and their backers to fan and foment further violence. Those who are now criticising the general amnesty to rebels might have been critical themselves had things gone wrong.

The amnesty will not cover crimes killing, looting, arson, etc. The prime minister herself has made it clear, and added that the trial of the crimes would be held as per the code of the respective forces.

There should be no politicking over the granting of general amnesty. All quarters should rally round the national security interest concern, and join hands. Unity will embolden us, as it did in the past, to translate the tragedy into strength.

Md AS Akbar is a Deputy Secretary to the Government