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Democratic government and BDR bloodbath

Harun ur Rashid
WHEN the mutiny by some undisciplined members of BDR took place on February 25, it was a big test for a democratic government to deal with this grave crisis. The Hasina government took power on January 6, and within a matter of fifty days it had to address a national crisis in which the stakes were very high.
There are two views about the matter. The government is of the view that it had rightly taken the decision to deal on a political level with the crisis, and the other view is that the government should have deployed the army to deal with it, lessening the casualties. This latter view is particularly articulated by the opposition leader and former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia. She also said that the declaration of amnesty was wrong at the time.
Whatever is the view, in hindsight one has 20/20 vision, there could be a debate on
what should have been done and not done as more facts come out. The debate thus falls into the realm of possibilities and guesswork, which have no conclusive end.
Supremacy of the civilian government
In terms of the Bangladesh Constitution, all powers of the People's Republic of Bangladesh belong to the people, and the people overwhelmingly voted the Awami League-led grand alliance to power in the December 29 election.
All agencies work under the direction of the democratically elected government. The government decides and takes actions as it deems fit, and must explain to the Parliament and the people why certain decisions were adopted.
The accountability of an elected representative government includes the tradition of resignation of a minister if something
goes awfully wrong within his/her portfolio. For example, the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 26 led to the resignation of the home minister of the Manmohan Singh government.
What Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina did to meet the crisis was widely covered in the media. She immediately called a cabinet meeting along with the party's presidium members. It was collectively decided to deal with the crisis politically, because ordering the army to counter the mutineers would have caused more bloodshed, given the densely-packed civilian area.
On February 26 the prime minister, in a televised address to the nation, warned the mutineers: "Lay down your guns immediately and go back to the barracks. Don't force me to take tough action." Meanwhile, the prime minister allowed army commandos to roll into the neighbourhood of the BDR Headquarters with tanks and armoured personnel carriers in a show of force.
The TV address and the show of force were perceived as important turning points in the crisis. By the late evening of February 26, the mutiny was over and the police took control of BDR Headquarters without being challenged. The most shameful and distressing fact is that by then 74 people including 51 army officers were brutally killed.
From the post-crisis reports available in the media, it appears the performance of the government team that went to BDR Headquarters fell short of the expectations
of many people. However, it appears that the people, by and large, supported the way the government dealt with the crisis.
The people and leaders of all parties want a quick trial and exemplary punishmenrfbr the culprits. The government is committed to it, according to the LGRD minister. The minister further said that the general amnesty did not apply to those who committed had criminal offences, but was meant for the general BDR personnel. Meanwhile, the prime minister has sought assistance in the probe into the massacre from the US, UK and the UN.
There is another dimension that is very important That is the supremacy of the civilian administration. The prime minister's decision has underscored the fact that the armed forces were under the command of the civilian administration, and the crisis had to be solved by the government on a political level.
The government conveyed the decision to the armed forces. As a disciplined and patriotic force, they loyally complied with the decision, demonstrating restraint, forbearance and maturity against all provocation.
The fact that the elected government resolved a serious national crisis politically has demonstrated that the country is being run by a civilian administration. It will not go unnoticedin the international community.
Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN. Geneva.