Trial in tribunal, not all mutineers BDR men

A special tribunal will be formed to fast-track trial of the perpetrators who "planned" the recent massacre at the BDR headquarters, some of whom were not paramilitary border guards, a minister said Saturday.  "A full investigation into the gory killings will be carried out. The government has some evidence which point to the involvement of people outside of the BDR," local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam said.  "The law minister has already been instructed to form a special tribunal.  "The law and the clauses under which perpetrators can be tried will be put before the cabinet and then a bill will be tabled in parliament to fast-track the trial process."  Legal actions would be taken against those whose link to the Feb.25-26 events was proved, said Ashraful, also the ruling Awami League spokesman, after a joint meeting of the cabinet and senior party leaders at prime minister Sheikh Hasina's official residence.  .  He said the meeting strongly condemned the carnage, prayed for the departed souls of the slain army officers and sympathised with their families and renewed resolve to find the killers, instigators.  "Every single one of those responsible will be put in the dock."  He said some changes will be made to the enquiry committee formed to dig out the truth about how and why the incident happened.  Non-partisan, neutral individuals will carry out investigations and file a report "as soon as possible", the minister added.  "It's beyond our words to describe the shock events. Those we've lost were our assets. It'll take a long time to recoup the irreparable loss.  "Those who died in the Peelkhana incident are martyrs. They will be buried with state honour."  Continued Ashraful: "A monument will be built in remembrance of the slain officers. The families of the dead will each be given Tk 10 lakh and the government will bear their expenses."  On top of that, the government will help out those affected by the rebellion.  "The prime minister sent out army troops no sooner had she got the news. But it takes time for the army to reach a certain place. Whatever happened in Peelkhana (BDR headquarters) had happened before the army members had reached the scene.  "After that, our main concern was the safety of the hostages. The standoff was resolved quickly considering the security of the people in general apart from the BDR members.  "All the democracies of the world have endorsed the measures taken."  "If the army stormed the headquarters those who have survived may not have altogether. There's no scope to do politics over what has happened.  "Some politicians are trying to create problem through misinterpreting the events. We call on all across the political spectrum to get united to resolve the crisis," Ashraful said.

Bangladeshi death toll rises amid search for mutineers

Army convoys are combing areas around the Bangladeshi border guard headquarters, vowing to punish participants in this week's bloody mutiny, which killed nearly 100 army officers and civilians, according to The New Nation newspaper. Bangladeshi firefighters continued to uncover bodies Friday of Bangladesh Rifles officers from a mass grave. More than 160 army officers were inside the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) when the mutiny broke out on Wednesday morning, local reports said. So far, 88 bodies have been recovered from mass graves in the outskirts of Dhaka, the newspaper reported. At least 22 bodies have also been recovered from the Buriganga River after the rebelling troops dumped them down a sewer during the standoff, authorities said. The 88 found dead were among those 169 officers, the newspaper reported. Another 27 emerged from their captivity in the headquarters of the BDR, a 65,000-strong paramilitary outfit primarily responsible for guarding the country's borders. About 200 BDR soldiers have been arrested. The mutiny began Wednesday when BDR members took dozens of their superiors hostage.  It was the second day of BDR Week, when army officers and troop members from various BDR outposts along the border were in the capital for celebrations. The New Nation reported that the mutinous border guards surrendered their weapons on Thursday after the government declared an amnesty. The rebellion was spurred by years of discontent among the ranks of the BDR troops.  Recruits complained their army superiors dismissed their appeals for more pay, subsidized food and opportunities to participate in U.N. peacekeeping operations. Bangladesh and its South Asian neighbors contribute the most troops to U.N. operations and the pay is far greater than the meager salary the jawans -- as the BDR troops are called -- make.

Fresh mass graves found in Dhaka

A third mass grave containing the bodies of slaughtered officers has been found following a mutiny by border guards in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Fourteen more bodies were discovered at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on Saturday, bringing the death toll to more than 80.

Major general Shakil Ahmed, the chief of the force, and his wife were among the dead, while 60 officers remain missing.

The discoveries came three days after about 9,000 border guards rose up against their army superiors in what is believed to have been a protest over pay and conditions.

The government of Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister, gave fugitive guards 24 hours to report to their posts or local police stations on Saturday and Bangladesh's army has vowed that those responsible for the bloodshed will be punished.

'Grisly slaughter'

"The BDR troops who took part in these barbaric and grisly acts cannot be pardoned and will not be pardoned," lieutenant general MA Mubin said in a national television address.
In video


New Bangladesh graves uncovered after mutiny

"They will be given exemplary and quick punishment by a special tribunal. The martyrs will be buried with state honours."


Jahangir Kabir Nanak, a cabinet minister, said: "These senior military personnel have been killed in a planned and calculated manner. It's a grisly slaughter. We will punish these criminals."

Firefighters had a day earlier uncovered the bodies of dozens of senior officers, killed during the force's two-day mutiny and hurriedly dumped into shallow graves and sewers.


Mass graves

Tensions in the BDR erupted into violence on Wednesday after senior officers rejected appeals for more pay, subsidised food and holidays.

The guards agreed to put down their arms and later fled after Hasina appeared on national television and threatened to put down the mutiny by force.
In depth



 Focus: Mutiny reveals chaos
 Gallery: The Rifles' revolt
 Country profile: Bangladesh

Firefighters and emergency workers moved into the BDR compound housing the guards and their families and discovered corpses stuffed into sewers.


"The scene is horrific," Nicolas Haque, reporting for Al Jazeera from Dhaka, said.

"Where the mass grave has been found there is the terrible smell of death and flies are everywhere.

"Army officers, digging up the bodies, are in tears to see their own officers dead and mutilated."

Manhunt launched

About 300 BDR troops have been arrested and thousands remain at large after fleeing the compound after the killings.

"As you walk through the compound you can see disregarded uniforms left, right and centre ... You can see the [guards'] guns are still there, their clothes are still there," Haque said.

"There were more than 9,000 BDR troops that were here and the vast majority of them are nowhere to be found. There's a manhunt organised by the army to try and find these people."

A mass funeral for the dead military personnel was expected to be held once all bodies had been recovered.

Bangladesh has been observing three days of national mourning since Friday.

The insurrection is believed to have erupted over frustrations among the guards, who earn about $100 a month, that their pay has failed to keep pace with soldiers in the army.

Their anger has also been aggravated by the rise in food prices that has accompanied the global economic crisis.

AL all set for election on Dec 18: Ashraful

Awami League has said that the party is ready for the Dec 18 elections having almost finalised nominations and continuing discussions with allies on seat distribution.

"We hope the election will be held on time and all parties will participate," party spokesperson Syed Ashraful Islam said on Saturday.

The AL general secretary was briefing reporters after AL president Sheikh Hasina met with Pakistan's high commissioner Alamgir Babar at her Sudha Sadan home.

It was a farewell and courtesy call by the Pakistan envoy, he said.

Ashraf told reporters: "Our president has said that the party is ready for the Dec 18 elections. The nominations are almost finalised. We are also discussing seats with alliance members."

"Our leader believes the election is the only way forward from the current crisis," he said.

On the prospective meeting between the two former prime ministers, Ashraf said only that the party was now busy with the election and nominations.

Earlier the Pakistan envoy told reporters that the AL chief was hopeful about the upcoming elections.

The election was an internal affair of Bangladesh, he said. If it was acceptable to the people it would also be acceptable to his country.

BNP chief Khaleda Zia had a similar meeting with the high commissioner on Friday.

Adviser hints at elections without emergency

The national elections will be held in "a free environment", an adviser said on Saturday, hinting at an environment free of the state of emergency.

"The government will consider fully lifting the state of emergency if the election environment develops smoothly," commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman told reporters at a press briefing at the Chief Adviser's Office.

Before the full withdrawal, another phase of relaxation of emergency was under consideration after the nomination process was complete, he said.

With BNP continuing to press its demand for a total withdrawal of emergency as a condition to joining the election, and Awami League declaring it is "all set" for parliamentary polls on Dec. 18, the adviser's statement signals continued attempts to smooth an accord with the two major parties.

On the demand by parties for "a level playing field", he said: "A huge change has been brought in field administration at the request of the Election Commission."

"The government is determined to strictly control any tendency that influences the electoral process," Hossain Zillur said.

If the EC received any complaint of bias, proper measures would be taken in this regard, he said.

He added that amendments had been brought to Representation of People Order Ordinance.

The power of the EC had been ensured to resolve any such allegations, he said.

On the pending trial of a number of cases against potential candidates, the adviser said that the issue was under the purview of independent judicial system.

Asked about the redrawing of constituencies, he said: "As the issue has been resolved in the court it is no more relevant."

Adviser hints at elections without emergency

Sat, Nov 15th, 2008 1:48 pm BdST Dhaka, Nov 15 (bdnews24.com) – The national elections will be held in "a free environment", an adviser said on Saturday, hinting at an environment free of the state of emergency.

"The government will consider fully lifting the state of emergency if the election environment develops smoothly," commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman told reporters at a press briefing at the Chief Adviser's Office.

Before the full withdrawal, another phase of relaxation of emergency was under consideration after the nomination process was complete, he said.

With BNP continuing to press its demand for a total withdrawal of emergency as a condition to joining the election, and Awami League declaring it is "all set" for parliamentary polls on Dec. 18, the adviser's statement signals continued attempts to smooth an accord with the two major parties.

On the demand by parties for "a level playing field", he said: "A huge change has been brought in field administration at the request of the Election Commission."

"The government is determined to strictly control any tendency that influences the electoral process," Hossain Zillur said.

If the EC received any complaint of bias, proper measures would be taken in this regard, he said.

He added that amendments had been brought to Representation of People Order Ordinance.

The power of the EC had been ensured to resolve any such allegations, he said.

On the pending trial of a number of cases against potential candidates, the adviser said that the issue was under the purview of independent judicial system.

Asked about the redrawing of constituencies, he said: "As the issue has been resolved in the court it is no more relevant."

Adviser hints at elections without emergency

Sat, Nov 15th, 2008 1:48 pm BdST Dhaka, Nov 15 (bdnews24.com) – The national elections will be held in "a free environment", an adviser said on Saturday, hinting at an environment free of the state of emergency.

"The government will consider fully lifting the state of emergency if the election environment develops smoothly," commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman told reporters at a press briefing at the Chief Adviser's Office.

Before the full withdrawal, another phase of relaxation of emergency was under consideration after the nomination process was complete, he said.

With BNP continuing to press its demand for a total withdrawal of emergency as a condition to joining the election, and Awami League declaring it is "all set" for parliamentary polls on Dec. 18, the adviser's statement signals continued attempts to smooth an accord with the two major parties.

On the demand by parties for "a level playing field", he said: "A huge change has been brought in field administration at the request of the Election Commission."

"The government is determined to strictly control any tendency that influences the electoral process," Hossain Zillur said.

If the EC received any complaint of bias, proper measures would be taken in this regard, he said.

He added that amendments had been brought to Representation of People Order Ordinance.

The power of the EC had been ensured to resolve any such allegations, he said.

On the pending trial of a number of cases against potential candidates, the adviser said that the issue was under the purview of independent judicial system.

Asked about the redrawing of constituencies, he said: "As the issue has been resolved in the court it is no more relevant."