Bangladesh army chief pledges support for Yunus’ interim government ‘come what may’

DHAKA - Bangladesh’s army chief vowed to back the country’s interim government “come what may”, to help it complete key reforms after

the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina

so that elections could be held within the next 18 months.

General Waker-uz-Zaman and his troops stood aside in early August amid raging student-led protests against Ms Hasina, sealing the fate of the veteran politician who resigned after 15 years in power and fled to neighbouring India.

In a rare media interview, Gen Zaman told Reuters at his office in the capital Dhaka on Sept 23 that the interim administration led by

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus

had his full support, and outlined a pathway to rid the military of political influence.

“I will stand beside him, come what may, so that he can accomplish his mission,” Gen Zaman said.

The pioneer of the global microcredit movement, Dr Yunus has promised to carry out essential reforms to the judiciary, police and financial institutions, paving the way to hold a free and fair election in the country of 170 million people.

Gen Zaman – who took over as army chief only weeks before Ms Hasina’s ouster – said a transition to democracy should be made between a year and 18 months, but underlined the need for patience.

“If you ask me, I will say that should be the timeframe by which we should enter into a democratic process,” he said.

Bangladesh’s two main political parties, Ms Hasina’s Awami League and its bitter rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had both previously called for elections to be held within three months of the interim government taking office in August.

Dr Yunus, the interim administration’s chief adviser, and the army chief meet every week, with the military supporting the government’s efforts to stabilise the country after a period of turmoil, said Gen Zaman.

“I’m sure that if we work together, there is no reason why we should fail,” he added.

More than 1,000 people were killed in violent clashes that began as a movement against public sector job quotas in July but escalated into a wider anti-government uprising – the bloodiest period in the country’s independent history.

Calm has returned to the teeming streets of Dhaka, a densely packed metropolis that was at the heart of the rebellion, but some parts of the civil service are not yet properly functional after the dramatic fall of Ms Hasina’s administration.

With much of Bangladesh’s police, numbering around 190,000 personnel, still in disarray, the army has stepped up to carry out law and order duties nationwide.

Punishment and reforms

Born out of erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971 after a bloody independence war, Bangladesh came under military rule in 1975 following the assassination of its first prime minister, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ms Hasina’s father.

In 1990, the country’s military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad was toppled in a popular uprising, leading to the restoration of democracy.

The military again staged a coup in 2007, backing a caretaker government that ruled until Ms Hasina took power two years later.

A career infantry officer who served through these periods of turmoil, Gen Zaman said the Bangladesh Army that he leads would not intervene politically.

“I will not do anything which is detrimental to my organisation,” he said. “I am a professional soldier. I would like to keep my army professional.”

In line with sweeping government reforms proposed since Ms Hasina was shunted from power, the army is also looking into allegations of wrongdoing by its personnel and has already punished some soldiers, Gen Zaman said.

“If there is any serving member who is found guilty, of course I will take action,” he said, adding that some military officials may have acted out of line while working at agencies directly controlled by the former prime minister or interior minister.

The interim government has formed a five-member commission, headed by a former High Court judge, to probe reports of up to 600 people who may have been forcibly “disappeared” by Bangladesh’s security forces since 2009.

In the longer term, however, Gen Zaman wants to distance the political establishment from the army, which has more than 130,000 personnel and is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions.

“It can happen only if there is some balance of power between president and prime minister, where the armed forces can be placed directly under president,” he said.

Bangladesh’s armed forces currently come under the Defence Ministry, which is typically controlled by the prime minister, an arrangement that Gen Zaman said a constitutional reform process under the interim government could potentially look to amend.

“The military as a whole must not be used for political purpose ever,” he said. “A soldier must not indulge in politics.” AFP