Alarmed by reports of dissension with the army’s rank and file over the Sheikh Hasina government’s move to call in regular troops to put down the massive students’ movement, Bangladesh army headquarters will hold a “ideas exchange” meeting of officers and formation heads on August 3 as part of a move to calm edgy nerves.
A notification issued by army headquarters on August 2 said that officers stationed in Dhaka, Mirpur and Savar must be “present in person” in the meeting which will be addressed by Bangladesh’s newly appointed chief General Waker-uz-Zaman. A copy of the notification is in the possession of Northeast News.
The Bangladesh army’s top brass had initially conveyed to Sheikh Hasina that not all its officers and troops were in favour of “turning against” the students as the violence over the students’ quota movement took a violent turn, leading to several deaths between July 17 and 20.
However, 27,000 officers and troops were deployed to assist the civilian authorities to maintain law and order. However, the 46th Independent Brigade was pulled out of the army’s chain of command to provide back-up support to the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guards Bangladesh units which took this cover to openly fire and the student agitationists in many parts of Dhaka and other districts.
The August 3 gathering is scheduled to begin at 1:30 pm (BST) and all officers and soldiers are required to take their seats by 1:00 pm. The Bangladesh army headquarters’ decision on holding the meeting, sources said, is on the suggestion and advice of the security establishment of a foreign government which hitherto believed that all army units were fully committed to back the Awami League regime.
During the five days of chaos and violence across Bangladesh, the police and Chhatra League cadres, using bullet proof vests and helmets and guns, shot several protestors at point blank range with the army troops taking no action to prevent the killings.
There were several confirmed reports of army troops firing at the agitating students, causing the death of many. This led to an uproar across Bangladesh as the army was earlier perceived to be neutral and that the soldiers would not train their guns at unarmed protestors.
The army’s Military Intelligence unit, the notification said, will take videos and still photographs of the meeting. The army’s IT wing will be responsible for transmitting digital videos and images to other units across Bangladesh.
