DHAKA, Sept 24 (Askume) – Bangladesh’s army chief has vowed to support the country’s interim government “no matter what” to help carry out key reforms ahead of elections within the next 18 months after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power.
In early August, General Waqar Uz Zaman and his troops stood by silently as students staged violent protests against Hasina, a decision that forced the veteran politician to resign after 15 years in power and flee with her family to neighbouring India.
Zaman told Askume in a rare media interview at his office in the capital Dhaka on Monday that the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus had his full support and offered a way to free the military from political influence.
Zaman, who wears glasses and a military uniform, said of Younus, “I will support him. No matter what. So he can complete his mission.”
Yunus, a pioneer of the global microfinance movement, promised necessary reforms in the judiciary, police and financial institutions to pave the way for free and fair elections in the country of 170 million people.
Following the reforms, Zaman – who took over as army chief just weeks before Hasina stepped down – said the transition to democracy would take a year and a half, but also stressed the need for patience.
He said, “If you ask me, I would say this should be the time frame in which we enter into the democratic process.”
Bangladesh’s two main political parties, Hasina’s Awami League and her main rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had earlier called for elections within three months of the interim government taking power in August.
Zaman said Yunus, the interim government’s chief adviser, and the army chief met weekly and had a “very good” relationship, adding that the army was supporting the government’s efforts to bring stability to the country after the turmoil.
He said, “I believe that if we work together there will be no reason for failure.”
More than 1,000 people were killed in violent clashes in July that began as a campaign against reservation in public sector jobs but later spiraled into a widespread anti-government uprising – the bloodiest in the country’s independence history.
Calm has returned to the streets of Dhaka, the densely populated metropolis at the epicentre of the uprising, but parts of the civil service remain idle following the dramatic collapse of Hasina’s government.
Bangladesh has around 190,000 police forces and there is still a state of chaos so the military has intervened to maintain law and order across the country.
punishment and reform
Born in East Pakistan after a bloody war of independence in 1971, Bangladesh came under military rule after the assassination of its first prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Hasina’s father) in 1975.
In 1990, the country’s military ruler Hussain Mohammad Ershad was ousted in a popular uprising and democracy was restored.
In 2007, the military staged another coup and supported a caretaker government until Hasina returned to power two years later.
Zaman, an infantry officer who had served during the turbulent times, said the Bangladesh Army under his leadership would not interfere politically.
He said, “I’m not going to do anything that’s detrimental to my organization. I’m a professional Soldier. I want to keep my Army professional.”
Zaman said the military was also investigating allegations of misconduct by its personnel and had already punished some soldiers as part of sweeping government reforms proposed by Hasina following her ouster. He did not provide further details.
“If any serving member is found guilty, I will definitely take action,” he said, adding that some officers may have been guilty of misconduct while working in agencies under the direct control of former prime ministers or home ministers.
The interim government established a five-member committee headed by a former High Court judge to investigate reports of 600 forced “disappearances” by Bangladeshi security forces since 2009 .
In the long term, however, Zeman wants the political establishment to distance itself from the military, which has more than 130,000 personnel and is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions.
He said, “This can only happen if there is some balance of power between the President and the Prime Minister, with the leadership of the armed forces directly vested in the President.”
The Bangladesh Armed Forces are currently under the Defence Ministry and are generally controlled by the prime minister, Zaman said, adding that the arrangement could be amended during the interim government’s constitutional reform process.
“The military should never be used for political purposes,” he said. “No soldier should get involved in politics.”
