No, this is not an attempt either to support or defend the Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman in any capacity. It is not to praise our defence establishment’s integrity and commitment to protect the state. And if you think this piece would woo the army taking over the Interim Government, you are dead wrong.
It is actually about the recently evolved hostility and negative dynamics between our Army and Interim Government.
Reflecting back to the past week’s dramatic developments, I only felt it more than just important to pen this piece on the current complex relationship between the two key stakeholders of the state.
Army’s press briefing on Monday clarified on multiple issues. This writer focused on just three of them.
First, the Interim Government and the Army were not at odds. Read between the lines, the two were definitely in odds, otherwise why was it deemed important to officially state that they were not in odds in a press meet? Second, the Army is clear against establishing a humanitarian corridor for a number of realistic reasons. Third and the most important issue according to my reading – The Army stands united and remains steadfast in its commitment to protect the country's sovereignty by standing firm beside the people.
The third point suddenly rang a bell. It was the same message and in the same tone, when the Army Chief sent out a clear signal to the collapsing Hasina Regime during an officers’ address held at Dhaka Cantonment’s Helmet Auditorium on 3 August , 2024. It simply meant the Army was not with the government any longer.
Madam Hasina, however, badly failed to read the clear writing on the wall. Less than a year to the Interim Government’s tenure, we have once more stepped into a similar reality.
However, at least this writer cannot recall of one single army chief in our history who had to endure such unprecedented massive challenges while holding the highest office in Army for so long.
His regular force had been compelled to execute civilian duties with magistracy authority for too long. His officers had been deployed as administrators in state-run and the private sector. His men also have played the role of policemen to traffic sergeants.
Clad in full combat attire, they have regularly engaged in detaining drug peddlers, raiding dubious hotels to deal with unruly, rebellious people & students in the streets for the past 10 months. Even more is that our army members even had to play the role of security guards safeguarding our Key Point Installations.
Consider it as a humour if you may, I will not be surprised if our army members are deployed to play international football, hockey or cricket matches anytime soon, of course under compelling circumstances. It will come as no surprise, if the regular force is even given the responsibility for creating a political consensus or formulating an election road map.
Jokes apart, on that auspicious late noon of August 5 last year, most of us gleefully branded our Army Chief as the hero and our liberator from fascism. But where have our Interim Government, political parties, July student protesters, journalists and namely YouTubers have placed him today?
He is often branded as Pro-India, a conspirator, a Sheikh family member, an opportunist and what not?
What’s fascinating is that in post 1990 Bangladesh, our Army seems to have deliberately chosen to remain somewhere in between a deep state and a non – deep state. It is unlike anywhere in the world. Then again appeared the 111 military backed government in 2007 - only to have tarnished the Army’s national image.
The point, however, given our socio-political history of 54 years, Army has always appeared both as visible and invisible factors for a government to remain in power. Civilian leaderships or military dictators, whoever lost our Army’s support and loyalty came crashing to the ground.
General Waker’s numerous messages, delivered in separate media interviews and official addresses during the last 10 months , including his last leaked out address , only echoed of the ominous reality of today’s deepening political crisis which the Interim Government is miles behind from efficiently addressing it.
You may surely argue that the Army Chief had absolutely no authority to declare an expected timeframe for the next general election, responding to your argument, wasn’t it the top most responsibility of the Chief Adviser? Why hadn’t he done so? And why a regular disciplined force meant to safeguard country’s independence and territorial integrity, have been kept engaged in executing civilian and bureaucratic duties for so long?
Coming back to Mr Waker’s last officers’ address held in Wednesday, he only re-iterated on the growing challenges faced by the hour. Adding salt to his almost worn-out mental injuries, another conspiracy theory surfaced over an alleged sinister and conspiratorial role played by our National Security Adviser.
Here the Rakahine Humanitarian Corridor issue comes under the spotlight once more. Disagreements will surely breakout over a sensitive security issue, but understandably it is difficult for the Interim Government to resist the temptations of political trade-offs and spin-offs over establishing a corridor.
What an irony, we now have a second successive national security adviser who is in odds with our Army.
The former, was a retired Major General with limited aptitude and a strong political connection, and the current one, though intellectually and academically bright, has assumed the role with a hidden political agenda. The former played his game thickly veiled in a political costume, the current one is far too exposed with his objectives with a dual citizenship.
However, our Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman (Read Wake-up-Uzzaman) has finally awakened to the fast changing political realities of Bangladesh. He has surely made some mistakes for which, this writer believes he was neither trained nor prepared for.
For instance, I could never comprehend the actual reason behind the Army’s providing shelter to some 626 individuals including political figures, judges, civil servants, police officers and academicians complicit to the crimes of Hasina regime. Some of them fled from the supposed safe houses, some remains with obscure details. It is learnt from reliable sources, that most of the sheltered individuals left cantonments within one or two days as the situation stabilized. Some were handed over to law enforcement agencies through proper legal channels based on pending allegations or legal cases.
The million dollar questions here, had any media outlet in post 5-August Bangladesh ever enquired with the ISPR, whom the Army had sheltered, their names and designations? Was there any internal or external pressure imposed on the Army to declare a list for that matter? And how had some managed to book a safe passage right in front of the Army’s nose?
To cut a long story short - the whole ‘sheltering affair’ yet remains in a deep mystery to millions of ordinary citizens which the ISPR could have managed in a more prudent and professional manner. Perhaps, the best would have been, had the press media wing not talked at all from the beginning.
Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. It was Francis Bacon to have quoted, not this newspaper clerk.
To finish with, the illustrated Four-Star General must have surely realised by now, how and where he has put his feet after post 5-August Bangladesh. Enough damage has already been done on the trust factor that existed between Yunus & Co and Waker & Co.
Expectations, equations and individual demands between the Chief Adviser and Army Chief is no longer the talk of the town, it has actually turned into the deciding factor of the nation’s political future.
It all happened because Waker chose to wake up.
The writer is Editorial Chief, Daily Observer
